“I heard the condition isn’t good...”

Hanwha Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon praised the ace pitching of Moon Dong-joo, who performed well the previous day (April 20), ahead of the game against the NC Dinos on the 21st at Ulsan Munsoo Stadium.

Moon Dong-joo started the previous game and pitched 6 innings, allowing 4 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 4 batters without giving up a run. He threw 92 pitches, with 61 strikes and 31 balls, which was appropriate. He used 41 fastballs, 24 sliders, 13 forks, and 10 curves to dominate the NC hitters. His maximum speed reached 157 km/h.

There were some crises, but it was stable. Opposing manager Lee Ho-jun also acknowledged, “Yesterday, Moon Dong-joo’s pitches were good.” Kim Kyung-moon also praised Moon Dong-joo’s ace performance.

Kim Kyung-moon said, “In fact, I heard when he was warming up in the bullpen yesterday that his condition wasn’t good. He has matured that much,” expressing satisfaction with Moon’s composed demeanor on the mound.

He continued, “Even when the condition isn’t good, he didn’t just throw with power, but pitched well with control and tempo management,” adding, “We’re not hitting actively right now, but he didn’t give up runs, which allowed us to score later, and that’s likely why we won the first game,” he smiled.

He was also pleased with Chae Eun-sung’s long hit. Kim noted, “I put him in as a designated hitter hoping for a performance like yesterday. Chae Eun-sung needs to hit. He’s a player we’re expecting long hits from besides (Noh) Si-hwan, so I was glad to see the long hit yesterday.”

Additionally, he explained Kim Seo-hyun’s first multi-inning save in his debut. When the setup man Han Seung-hyuk struggled with a hit by pitch and walks in the 8th inning, Kim Seo-hyun was brought in with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 3rd. Kim Seo-hyun emerged from the crisis by striking out Kim Hyung-jun, and then in the 9th inning, he struck out Seo Ho-cheol, Han Seok-hyun, and Jeong Hyun-chang to completely shut down the game.

Kim Kyung-moon stated, “As a manager, I don’t want to let it go to 4 outs, but these days, even a 5-run lead can be overturned. In a situation where the score goes from 4-0 to 4-1, if we give up more runs and suffer a comeback loss, that atmosphere continues. I thought I needed to write him in ahead of time, but he did so well.”

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