The Lotte Giants submarine pitcher Han Hyun-hee (32) allowed runs in his fourth start in the Futures League. However, he is gradually finding stability.
On the 9th, Han Hyun-hee started in a game against the Goyang Heroes at the Gimhae Sangdong Stadium, pitching 5⅓ innings, throwing 81 pitches, allowing 8 hits, striking out 2, and giving up 5 runs (2 earned runs) before leaving the mound.
After finishing the 2022 season and acquiring free agent (FA) status, Han Hyun-hee signed a contract for a maximum of 4 billion won over 3+1 years and joined his hometown team, Lotte. However, this year, in his third year of the contract, he was not included in the opening roster. His annual salary is 1 billion won, but he was notified of being outside the roster after the opening.
However, he continued to leave regrets in the Futures League. On the 22nd of last month against the Army Warriors, he pitched 2 innings, allowed 5 hits, 3 walks, and gave up 3 runs. On the 27th against the KIA Tigers, he pitched 3⅔ innings, allowed 4 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, 1 hit-by-pitch, struck out 4, and gave up 5 runs (3 earned runs). And on the 2nd against the NC Dinos, he struggled with 5 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit-by-pitch, struck out 3, and gave up 5 runs (4 earned runs).
He allowed 4 runs that day, but they resulted from errors. It was the best appearance among his last 4 starts.
In the first inning, Han Hyun-hee allowed a single to lead-off hitter Eo Jun-seo, but he retired Kwon Hyuk-bin on a fly ball to center and Yang Hyun-jong on a Samjin. After that, he prevented Eo Jun-seo from stealing second base and finished the first inning.
In the second inning, he allowed runs. He retired the lead-off hitter Lim Ji-yeol on a foul fly to the catcher, but gave up a single to Sim Hwi-yun. However, shortstop made an error on Ju Seong-won's line drive, leading to a crisis with runners on first and second. He then gave up a single to Kim Dong-heon, placing runners on all bases with one out. Ultimately, he was hit for a 2-run double by Lee Jae-sang, scoring runs. However, he retired Byeon Sang-gwon on a line drive to shortstop and Eo Jun-seo on a fly ball to shortstop, barely finishing the second inning.
In the third inning, he struck out lead-off hitter Kwon Hyuk-bin, but allowed Yang Hyun-jong to reach on a third baseman error, putting one runner on with one out. He allowed a single to Lim Ji-yeol and retired Sim Hwi-yun on a fly ball to right field, but gave up another single to Ju Seong-won, creating a bases-loaded situation with two outs. Ultimately, he gave up a 2-run single to Kim Dong-heon, increasing the runs to 4. Lee Jae-sang was retired on a fly ball to center, ending the third inning.
In the fourth inning, he retired Byeon Sang-gwon on a groundout to second, Eo Jun-seo on a groundout to first, and Kwon Hyuk-bin on a fly ball to shortstop, finding stability. In the fifth inning, he also retired Yang Hyun-jong on a fly ball to left field, Lim Ji-yeol on a fly ball to center, and Sim Hwi-yun on a groundout to shortstop, recording two consecutive three-up, three-down innings.
In the sixth inning, he allowed a single to lead-off hitter Ju Seong-won. He retired Kim Dong-heon on a sacrifice bunt, creating a one-out, two-runner situation. After that, Han Hyun-hee left the mound. As the responsible runner scored at home, Han Hyun-hee's earned runs for that day increased to 5 runs (2 earned runs).
As a turning point in this game, the average earned run for the second team slightly decreased from 8.44 to 6.75.
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