SSG Landers pitcher Park Jong-hoon is wondering when he will return to the first team.

Park Jong-hoon started as a pitcher in a game against Doosan Bears on the 16th at Icheon Bears Park, throwing 115 pitches over 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, 6 walks, striking out 5, and giving up 4 earned runs.

SSG had a scoring chance in the first inning when leadoff batter Park Ji-hwan reached base with a triple that went over the center fielder's head, followed by Lee Jung-beom's timely hit. After Ha Jae-hoon's hit, they pulled ahead 2-0 with Kim Gyu-min's timely hit with runners on first and third and two outs.

Park Jong-hoon faced leadoff batter Kim Min-seok in the first inning, getting him out with a fly ball to right field after a 12-pitch battle. He also got Kim Dong-jun out with a line drive to right field. After allowing Kim Min-hyuk to reach base with an infield hit, he ended the inning by striking out Hong Sung-ho on a fourth pitch swing and miss.

SSG had a chance in the second inning with Lim Geun-woo's hit and Park Ji-hwan's double, setting up runners on second and third with no outs. They added a run on Lee Jung-beom's ground ball to second base, and Ryu Hyo-seung hit a 1-RBI double over the right fielder's head. With one out and a runner on second base, Ha Jae-hoon's timely hit made it 5-0.

However, Park Jong-hoon struggled in the second inning. He allowed consecutive hits to Ryu Hyun-jun and Park Gye-beom, then walked Jeon Da-min, loading the bases with no outs. He gave up a run with Kim Jun-sang's ground ball to shortstop.

Afterwards, he walked Park Ji-hoon, resulting in bases loaded with one out and allowed a second run by issuing a straight walk to Kim Min-seok. He then hit Kim Dong-jun with a pitch on the second ball, leading to another run. A sacrifice fly by Kim Min-hyuk resulted in the fourth run scoring. He ended the inning by handling Hong Sung-ho's ground ball to first base with two outs and runners on first and second.

In the third inning, after two outs, he allowed Jeon Da-min to reach base with a single to left field, but the inning ended with a failed stolen base attempt by Kim Jun-sang. In the fourth inning, he walked Park Ji-hoon with one out. He allowed a stolen base in Kim Min-seok's at-bat but managed to strike him out on the fourth pitch swing and miss. The inning ended without allowing a run as he got Kim Dong-jun out with a fly ball to center field with two outs and a runner on second base.

In the fifth inning, he walked leadoff batter Kim Min-hyuk. He struck out Hong Sung-ho on the 11th pitch and struck out Ryu Hyun-jun on the sixth pitch as well. Lee Seon-woo's ground ball resulted in an error by the shortstop, but Park Jong-hoon escaped the jam by getting Jeon Da-min out with a fly ball to left field with two outs and runners on first and second.

After pitching 5 innings, Park Jong-hoon was replaced. Han Ji-heon pitched 3 innings, allowing 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2 without giving up a run (hold), and Park Sung-bin pitched 1 inning, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk without giving up a run (save), securing a 5-4 victory by one run.

Park Jong-hoon signed the first multi-year contract in the KBO without being a free agent after the 2021 season. He underwent elbow surgery and returned to play while recovering, signing a contract worth 6.5 billion won over 5 years. After returning in the middle of the 2022 season, he has recorded an average ERA of over 6.00 each season.

This season, Park Jong-hoon has started 5 games in the first team but has struggled with a record of 2 losses and an average ERA of 7.11. He was removed from the first team roster on the 5th. The day before being removed (the 4th), he started against LG, pitching 4 innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 home runs, 7 walks, 1 hit batter, and 7 earned runs.

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