The professional baseball team Kiwoom Heroes is facing concerns due to gaps in its starting rotation.

On the 24th, Kiwoom lost 3-9 against Doosan Bears in the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' game held at Seoul's Gocheok Sky Dome, marking its second consecutive loss. This defeat prevented them from maintaining the momentum gained from winning the first game of the midweek three-game series, ultimately losing the winning series.

Having decided to use only one foreign pitcher this season, Kiwoom formed its opening day starting rotation with Kenny Rosenberg, Ha Young-min, Kim Yoon-ha, Jung Hyun-woo, and Yoon Hyun. However, top rookie Jung Hyun-woo suffered a shoulder injury and was sidelined, and rookie pitcher Yoon Hyun also faced difficulties adjusting to the first team, leading to a gap in the 4-5 spot.

Kiwoom, which gave starting opportunities to figures such as Jo Young-gun and Jeon Joon-pyo, decided to fill the 4-5 spot again with Kim Yeon-joo and Kim Sun-ki. Expressing frustration, manager Hong Won-ki noted, "Do we have a 4-5 starter?" He added, "(Kim Yeon-joo) seems more appropriate as an opener rather than a substitute starter. Still, I hope he can handle as many innings as possible and hold out until the next starter returns. The pressure will be the same for any player. Kim Yeon-joo showed good form in the bullpen last year, and I hope he gives his best in the opportunity given."

However, Kim Yeon-joo did not meet manager Hong Won-ki's expectations. He faltered from the first inning, yielding an early advantage in the game. He allowed a hit to lead-off batter Jeong Soo-bin, and though Jake Cave was recorded as a fly out to left field, he faced another hit from Yang Eui-ji, putting him in a 1 out, 1st and 2nd base crisis. After getting Yang Seok-hwan out with a fly ball to center field, Kim Yeon-joo allowed a 2-RBI triple to Kim Jae-hwan, ultimately giving up the opening score. He caught Kim Min-seok with a strikeout.

After a three-up, three-down inning in the second, Kim Yeon-joo hit lead-off batter Jeong Soo-bin with a pitch in the third and allowed a two-run homer to Cave, once again conceding runs. He managed to retire both Yang Eui-ji and Yang Seok-hwan with fly balls but allowed a hit to Kim Jae-hwan, although he caught Kim Min-seok with a fly out to center field, finishing the inning under duress. In the fourth inning, with Kiwoom trailing 0-4, he handed the mound to Yang Ji-yul and ended his appearance for the day.

Kiwoom's bullpen, composed of Yang Ji-yul (1 inning, 2 earned runs), Jo Young-gun (2 innings, no earned runs), and Park Joo-seong (3 innings, 3 earned runs), struggled and allowed many earned runs, while the batting lineup failed to score additional runs, leading to a lackluster defeat.

With a record of 9 wins and 19 losses, and a winning percentage of .321, Kiwoom has slumped to the bottom of the league since the early part of the season, struggling to find a way to rebound. Their starting average earned run average was 5.54 before this game, ranking them 9th in the league. Unlike last season, when they had a solid one-two punch with Ariel Hurado and Emmanuel De Jesus, their effectiveness in breaking the losing streak has diminished this year.

In a situation where Rosenberg, Ha Young-min, and Kim Yoon-ha are maintaining their spots well in the starting rotation, finding suitable candidates for the 4th and 5th spots is an urgent task for Kiwoom. Attention is focused on whether Kiwoom can discover a new starting pitcher after this disappointing result.

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