The disappointing rain has also canceled the 'Moon-Kim war.' Instead, a big match featuring foreign ace players will take place.
The match scheduled for the 3rd between Hanwha Eagles and Kia Tigers at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field has been canceled due to rain. The canceled match will be rescheduled later.
On this day, the Imdong area, where the Champions Field is located, experienced continuous rain from early morning until the afternoon. The club had laid down a large waterproof cover in preparation, but there was already standing water on the ground. The Korea Meteorological Administration had forecasted rain until 1 p.m.
Even if the rain stopped, due to ground conditions, hosting the match was difficult. Ultimately, the decision to cancel the match due to rain was made at 12:25 p.m. On this day, a full crowd was expected at the Champions Field for the weekend. Many fans flocked to the stadium but turned away with disappointment.
The highly anticipated big match was also canceled. Hanwha's starting pitcher Moon Dong-joo and Kia's Kim Do-young's 'Moon-Kim war' was an interesting point of view. It was a matchup between a genius pitcher and a genius hitter that made Kia Tigers make a historic choice for the 2022 first draft pick.
Eventually, their destinies diverged as they joined Hanwha and Kia, respectively. Now, they had been competing on the mound and at the plate. Up until last year, Kim Do-young had the upper hand with 3 hits and 4 runs in 7 at-bats across 9 plate appearances.
They had waited for this matchup for 10 months, but it was canceled due to interference from the heavens. Furthermore, Moon Dong-joo will not be pitching next week as he is scheduled for a game on the 4th, and he will skip it altogether.
Foreign pitcher Kodi Fonseca is expected to pitch on the 4th. Fonseca is also having difficulties managing his condition due to the postponed outing, so he will pitch on Sunday. Accordingly, the game on the 4th has changed to a big matchup between James Naile and Fonseca. Naile is ranked first in earned run average (1.08), while Fonseca is undefeated with 5 wins and is leading in strikeouts.
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