Hanwha Eagles pitcher Um Sang-baek (29), a free-agent acquisition, has suffered three consecutive losses. All of them ended before he could pitch for five full innings, leaving a sense of disappointment.

Um Sang-baek started on the 12th at Hanwha Life Baseball Park in Daejeon in a home game against the Kiwoom Heroes in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League, pitching 3 innings, giving up 5 hits, 3 walks, striking out 4, and allowing 3 runs before being removed early. Hanwha lost 2-6, and Um recorded his third loss in three starts this season. His earned run average rose from 5.87 to 6.75.

Whether it was due to the poor weather with rain from before the game, things did not start well from the first inning. After allowing the first batter, Song Seong-moon, to reach first base on a straight walk, Um struck out Yasiel Puig swinging but again walked Choi Joo-hwan. With one out and runners on first and second, he retired Kim Woong-bin on a foul fly, but allowed Park Joo-hong a one-RBI hit to left field, giving up the first run. A slightly misplayed ball fell in front of the left fielder, and luck did not seem to be on his side.

In the second inning, he gave up another run. After striking out Jeon Tae-hyun with a slider, he recorded two outs by getting Kim Geon-hee to pop up to right field, but allowed a two-base hit to Kim Tae-jin to center-right, and then a one-RBI two-base hit from Song Seong-moon that hit the right monster wall, leading to additional runs. Both two-base hits came from fastballs.

A crisis continued in the third inning. After allowing Choi Joo-hwan to reach base on a walk after a seven-pitch battle, Kim Woong-bin’s poorly hit ground ball in front of the pitcher turned into an infield hit. After getting Park Joo-hong to fly out to left field, he struck out Im Byeong-wook and Jeon Tae-hyun swinging with his changeup to end the inning. He managed to exit the third inning without allowing runs, but used 31 pitches and started to show fatigue. Even after getting to two strikes, he was hit with six foul balls, indicating that his speed and control were not sharp.

By the end of the third inning, the pitch count reached 71, and ultimately he could not endure the fourth inning. The leadoff hitter Kim Geon-hee hit a two-base hit to center-left on the second pitch fastball, and he exited with no outs and a runner on second. Relief pitcher Lee Sang-kyu then allowed Kim Tae-jin and Song Seong-moon to each get hits—an outfield single and a right-field two-base hit, respectively—leading to one more earned run for Um.

The total pitch count was 73, with 46 strikes and 27 balls. His maximum speed was 148 km/h, with an average of 144 km/h on fastballs (29 pitches), along with changeups (31 pitches), curves (7 pitches), and cutters (6 pitches). Although the velocity was up compared to the last game, he faced concentrated attacks on his fastball, and his overall control was not very good.

Um Sang-baek's season started on the 26th of last month with a game against LG in Jamsil, where he pitched 4⅔ innings, allowing 6 hits (1 home run), 2 walks, 1 hit by pitch, striking out 5, and giving up 2 runs. Following this, on the 6th against Samsung in Daegu, he pitched 3 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts with 3 runs, and in this game against Kiwoom, he failed to pitch for five innings for the third consecutive game. He did not collapse completely, as he allowed fewer than three earned runs in all three games, but he was unable to keep a long inning due to an increased pitch count. He typically gives up runs but manages to stretch out innings; however, it seems the timing for substitutions has been a bit quick at Hanwha.

Regardless of the reason, Um's performance of three games with three losses and an earned run average of 6.75 is not fitting for the treatment he received as the highest-profile free agent this past winter, with a maximum contract of 7.8 billion won over four years. He struck out 12 batters over 10⅔ innings but issued 8 walks, which is disappointing. His walk rate of 6.8 per 9 innings has surged compared to last year (2.4) and his career average (3.6).

Already, evaluations of him as a failed free-agent acquisition have begun to arise, but it is still early in the season. Um Sang-baek also did not start well last year at KT. He suffered losses in his first three games and failed to pitch for five innings in two of them, allowing 11 runs over 12 innings with an earned run average of 8.25, resulting in a major setback. However, starting with his fourth game, he secured his first win and subsequently stabilized over 24 games (134⅔ innings) with 12 wins and 6 losses and an earned run average of 4.61. In those 24 games, he did not fail to pitch for five innings in only 2 games, showcasing a more reliable pitching style.

Of course, this year is different from last year as he has switched teams, and the burdens of meeting heightened expectations as a high-profile free agent have increased. Given the high expectations, his pitching during the first three games has been disappointing. There is no room for excuses, but there is still a lot of season left. Starting from his fourth appearance, Um Sang-baek must find a clue for a rebound.

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