NC Dinos pitcher Son Joo-hwan (23) has maintained a streak of 10 consecutive scoreless games. He is a man with a 0.00 earned run average.

On the 22nd, at Seoul's Jamsil Stadium, the game between NC Dinos and LG Twins saw both teams exchanging runs from the early stages, resulting in a back-and-forth battle. After four lead changes, the game was decided in extra innings. NC dramatically won 6-5 in the 10th inning, breaking a three-game losing streak.

Son Joo-hwan took the mound as the second pitcher after starter Shin Min-hyuk with two outs in the 6th inning, when NC was leading 4-2. Shin Min-hyuk threw 106 pitches, allowing 5 hits (1 home run), 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, and 3 earned runs before exiting.

Son Joo-hwan faced Koo Bon-hyuk and threw three sliders, retiring him on a line drive to the shortstop to end the inning.

In the 7th inning, with LG's left-handed batters Park Hae-min, Shin Min-jae, Hong Chang-ki, and Moon Seong-joo coming up, NC replaced their pitcher with left-hander Choi Seong-young. Son Joo-hwan finished his assignment with ⅓ of an inning scoreless and recorded a hold.

Son Joo-hwan is an indispensable player in the NC bullpen. He has appeared in 10 games this season, throwing 10⅓ innings while allowing only 3 hits and 2 walks, recording a scoreless streak. He has 2 wins, 2 holds, and an earned run average of 0.00.

Among pitchers who have appeared in more than 10 games this season, only Son Joo-hwan and Hanwha's closer Kim Seo-hyun (12 games, 10⅔ innings, scoreless) remain ‘unique.’

Son Joo-hwan was drafted by NC in the 6th round with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 rookie draft. He graduated from Mulgeum High School and Dong-A University.

Last year, he spent 18 days on the 1st team roster and made 4 appearances (3⅔ innings), recording 1 loss with an earned run average of 9.82. In the Futures League, he showed good performance with 5 wins, 4 holds, and an earned run average of 0.34 over 25 games (26⅓ innings). He has rapidly risen to become a key player in his second season.

When asked about Son Joo-hwan's performance before the game, manager Lee Ho-jun laughed and said, “He is very aggressive. He just throws the ball hard, and it seems to have a better effect.”

He continued, “To be honest, he wasn’t on the list during the first camp. He was recommended as the best player in the 2nd team when (Lee) Jae-hak was absent during the second camp. I didn’t expect much when he joined the second camp, but his velocity was good. He throws the ball confidently, whether he gets hit or not. I was a bit taken aback by that.” This pitching isn’t about escaping; it’s confident pitching saying ‘try to hit it if you can.’

Son Joo-hwan applied to join the military team. The manager stated, “If he passes the military application, he said he would have to go in May. However, I heard he was recently rejected. Personally, I said, ‘That’s good.’ (laughs) His versatility is significant; he can be used for multi-innings or as a 1-inning winner, and thanks to Joo-hwan, we were able to hold out a bit better early on,” he praised. A new face from the NC bullpen has emerged.

[OSEN]