The Hanwha Eagles' 'Daejeon Prince' Moon Dong-joo is set to make his third attempt at his first win of the season.
Hanwha will face the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium on the 8th in the first match of a three-game series. Moon Dong-joo has appeared in 2 games this season without a win, recording 1 loss and an earned run average of 5.14.
On the 27th of last month, he pitched well against the LG Twins, going 5 innings with only 1 hit, no walks, and 6 strikeouts without allowing a run, but he did not receive support from the lineup. In the game against the Lotte Giants on the 2nd, he started and gave up 4 runs in 2 innings (4 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk). This will be his first matchup against Doosan this season. Last year, he struggled against Doosan, posting a 1-3 record with an earned run average of 12.42. Will he show an improved performance in their first encounter of the season?
Hanwha, lingering at the bottom of the standings, is suffering from severe offensive struggles, having the only team batting average below .100 among the 10 teams. Moon Dong-joo's strong pitching is essential, but the lineup also needs to come through.
In response, Doosan will start left-handed pitcher Choi Seung-yong. His record this season stands at 1 win, no losses, with an earned run average of 3.97 over 2 games. In his first appearance of the season on March 26 against the KT Wiz, he became the winning pitcher after going 5⅓ innings, allowing 7 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 3 while giving up 2 runs.
At Sajik Stadium, the KIA Tigers will clash with the Lotte Giants. The KIA, who won the overall championship last year, is currently in 9th place as of the 7th. Kim Do-hyun will take the mound as the starter. He has not secured a victory in 2 outings, but his performance is promising, as indicated by his earned run average of 1.50. Lotte's starting pitcher is left-handed Kim Jin-wook. He has taken the mound twice and has tasted both victory and defeat, with an earned run average of 2.38.
The leading LG Twins, on a 4-game winning streak, will meet the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome. Left-handed pitcher Son Joo-young (2 games, 2 wins, no losses, earned run average of 2.77) will take the mound as the starter. Kiwoom will start Yoon Hyun (2 games, earned run average of 3.12).
The Samsung Lions will meet the SSG Landers at Daegu Samsung Lions Park. Samsung has Choi Won-tae and SSG will have Song Young-jin as their starting pitchers. At Suwon KT Wiz Park, NC Dinos' Mok Ji-hoon and KT Wiz's Koh Young-pyo will face off in a starter matchup.
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