The Hanwha Eagles are showcasing strong starting pitching while having a solid reserve of potential starters waiting in the Futures team.

Hanwha lost to the KT Wiz 1-2 in a home game at Hanwha Life Park on the 25th. After an 8-game winning streak, a 2-game losing streak has dampened their upward trend, but starting pitcher Eom Sang-baek's performance of 6 innings, 4 hits allowed, 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch, 1 strikeout, and no earned runs was a silver lining.

Eom Sang-baek, who started the season with a shaky performance, suffering a 3-game losing streak and failing to pitch more than 5 innings in all three games, revived after earning his first win against NC on the 18th (5 innings, 7 hits allowed, 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch, 3 strikeouts, and 4 earned runs). He found stability with his first quality start of the day.

Eom Sang-baek, facing his former team KT for the first time, showed some vulnerability early in the game. After escaping a jam with two outs and runners on first and second in the first inning by getting Hwang Jae-kyun to ground out to the shortstop, Eom sent a signal to the bench after throwing a pitch that hit Oh Yun-seok in the second inning, seemingly indicating discomfort in his arm.

Eom Sang-baek repeated the motion of bending and straightening his elbow and continued pitching after throwing a few warm-up pitches. Despite giving up a hit to Bae Jeong-dae and a walk to Mel Rojas Jr., he found himself in a bases-loaded jam with two outs, but right fielder Kim Tae-yeon made a catch on a deep fly ball hit by Kim Min-hyuk to escape the inning.

After a first 1-2-3 inning in the third, Eom Sang-baek found his groove, but in the fourth, he allowed a single to Oh Yun-seok and then gave up a timely hit to Kwon Dong-jin with two outs and a runner on third base, marking his first earned run. However, he delivered his best pitching since joining Hanwha by retiring the side in order during the 5th and 6th innings. Shortstop Sim Woo-jun assisted Eom Sang-baek with two impressive backhanded catches on deep balls to third base and accurate throws to first base.

With a total of 102 pitches thrown, Eom Sang-baek achieved a top speed of 148 km/h and averaged 143 km/h with his fastball (29 pitches) while significantly increasing his use of change-ups (61 pitches). Additionally, he mixed in some cutters (7 pitches) and curves (5 pitches). However, the Hanwha lineup was stifled by KT’s starting pitcher Sohn Hyeong-jun, failing to score through the 6th inning, while Eom Sang-baek was satisfied to lower his earned run average from 6.89 to 5.40 without securing a win.

Thus, Hanwha has achieved quality starts with all five of its starters this year, including KODI Ponce, Ryan Weiss (both in 4 games), Ryu Hyun-jin (3 games), Moon Dong-joo (1 game), and Eom Sang-baek. From the game on the 13th against Kiwoom to the game on the 23rd against Lotte, they collectively set a club record with quality starts in 8 consecutive games, maintaining a third-place ranking in earned run average (3.74) and quality starts (8 games).

Not only are there five reliable starters in the primary squad, but the Futures team is also stable with potential starters waiting. Last year's overall first-round draft pick, left-handed prospect Hwang Jun-seo, is currently managing the starting rotation with a record of 2 wins, 1 loss, and an earned run average of 4.08 over 6 games (28⅔ innings) with 25 strikeouts, while veteran right-handed pitcher Jang Min-jae has shown stability with 2 wins and an earned run average of 3.27 over 5 games (22 innings) and 22 strikeouts.

On the 25th, Jang Min-jae made a starting appearance in the Futures League game against the Doosan Bears at Icheon Bears Field. He pitched 5 innings, allowing 5 hits (including 1 home run), with no walks, 4 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs to earn the win. Through 5 innings, he threw a total of 68 pitches, achieving a top speed of 138 km/h and averaging 136 km/h with his fastball (25 pitches), while evenly mixing in forkballs (18 pitches), change-ups (13 pitches), curves (8 pitches), and sliders (4 pitches) to skillfully handle Doosan batters.

The KBO League is set for a 9-game stretch starting next week. Children's Day will fall on a Monday next month, and the league will have a 9-game stretch from the 29th to the 7th, followed by a break on the 8th Thursday. All five starters can pitch with 4 days of rest, but if a substitute starter is used from the second team in between, they can comfortably turn on 5 days of rest. Hwang Jun-seo and Jang Min-jae are preparing well, expanding Hanwha's options considerably.

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