“It has been said that it has been 222 days since I last won, and it really took a long time.”

Hanwha Eagles pitcher Moon Dong-joo (22) reported his first victory in his fourth appearance of the season amidst the severe cold. He became the winning pitcher after 222 days, shaking off the mental stress.

On the 13th, Moon started the home game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, leading Hanwha to a 7-1 victory with 6 innings pitched, allowing 3 hits, no walks, 6 strikeouts, and 1 earned run (unearned).

It was his first victory in 222 days since his last appearance of the season against Doosan on Sept. 3 (6 innings, 1 earned run). After that victory, Moon ended his season a month early due to shoulder pain. He underwent rehabilitation throughout the winter and gradually increased his innings and pitches from spring training through the exhibition games, achieving his first victory in his fourth appearance.

On that day, the temperature at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon was 7.4 degrees Celsius, with strong winds at 4.4 meters per second, making the perceived temperature much lower. During the game, it rained, and Moon's fastball was recorded at a maximum speed of 153 km/h and an average of 149 km/h. Compared to his game against Doosan on the 8th, his speed decreased by 6 km/h and 5 km/h, respectively.

In the first inning, he allowed 2 hits and a passed ball by the catcher, giving up the first run. He threw 26 pitches while losing strength but began to dominate the Kiwoom batters after the second inning with aggressive pitching, maintaining a favorable count. He succeeded in his first quality start of the season, holding 12 consecutive batters to groundouts from the 3rd to the 6th inning.

Out of a total of 81 pitches, he threw more breaking balls than fastballs, with 32 fastballs, 3 two-seam fastballs, 23 forks, 12 curves, and 11 sliders. After gaining counts with breaking balls, he used fastballs as his out pitch, achieving 3 strikeouts just from fastballs. He also struck out 2 with forks and 1 with a slider.

After the game, Moon said, “The weather was so cold that I faced difficulties, but the fans who filled the stadium, my family who came to see me, and my father's friends gave me great strength. I felt that the cold automatically made me adjust my pace. The wind was strong, and I felt the chill on the mound, but I focused more on my pitches. I believe performing well under bad conditions is the path to becoming a good player.”

Due to the cold, he pitched even more aggressively. He threw two consecutive games without walks. Moon stated, “On days with such bad weather, I learned that you need to finish the game quickly. I strive to pitch each game without issuing walks. I think if I effectively target the strike zone, there will be good results even if I give up many hits.” In this season, he has allowed only 1 walk over 17 innings in 4 games.

As the youngest member of the starting rotation, Moon expressed, “In recent years, I have never started a season perfectly due to injuries. However, I have gained experience about what to do compared to when I was initially injured, allowing me to prepare well, and the results of my first appearance were good.” He added, “I have learned a lot from the other starting pitchers. (Eom) Sang-baek, KODI Ponce, Ryan Weiss, and (Ryu) Hyun-jin have all given me different pieces of advice, and I tried to make it my own. I want to sincerely thank our senior starting pitchers.”

Having been burdened with mental stress after his shoulder pain prevented him from participating in the team’s fierce competition for the top five last year, Moon felt some relief from the burden with this victory. He remarked, “It has been said that it has been 222 days since I last won, and it really took a long time. I only feel sorry for the team. 222 days have been too much. I will do my best,” expressing his determination not to be a burden on the starting rotation.

Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon also mentioned Moon Dong-joo first in his post-game comments. Kim stated, “Moon Dong-joo solidly fulfilled the role of a starting pitcher over 6 innings. The batters also showed focus during opportunities, steadily scoring runs to maintain the lead and secure the victory. Despite the bad weather, the players gave their all until the end. I want to say thank you for their hard work.”

Following a winning series of 2 wins and 1 loss against Doosan earlier in the week and now against Kiwoom, Hanwha improved to 8 wins and 11 losses, rising to a tie for 7th place. They are scheduled to face SSG at Munhak during the week and NC in Daejeon next week.

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