We think we have the strongest pitching staff in the league.

This year, the significant progress of the Hanwha Eagles in professional baseball is largely due to the pitching staff, particularly the starting rotation. Everyone feels uneasy about facing Hanwha. They especially keep a keen eye on the rotation of Cody Ponce and Ryan Weiss. However, even if they avoid Ponce and Weiss, opponents still have to contend with Ryu Hyun-jin and Moon Dong-ju. Although he is currently down in the minor leagues, Eom Sang-bak is also a formidable pitcher.

In fact, Moon Dong-ju, who has secured a position as the fifth starter, currently has an earned run average of just 2.89 this season. Moon Dong-ju has yet to reach the required innings (47 innings), having only pitched 46⅔ innings. Based on the current earned run average rankings, Moon Dong-ju would rank 12th, standing shoulder to shoulder with the top one and two starters in the league. He currently has the second-lowest earned run average among the team's starting pitchers, following Ponce (1.48).

Moon Dong-ju said, "I feel really lucky to be with such a starting rotation. I often wonder when I might get to have such a good starting rotation again. We think we have the strongest pitching staff in the league," adding, "I believe this pitching staff provides me with a great opportunity to learn more and grow. I'm really trying to have many conversations, and I am just grateful for how much they've taken care of me before as well."

Although he is the youngest member of the strongest pitching staff and the fifth starter, on the 20th against NC in Ulsan, he had to step up on the mound carrying the burden of the ace's role. Hanwha surged to a 12-game winning streak, reaching first place alone. However, last week, against Doosan and SSG, they managed just one win and five losses. It was a disappointing result from a six-game homestand. The atmosphere has somewhat cooled down.

However, Moon Dong-ju picked up the momentum again. Based on his top pitch speed of 157 km/h, he delivered a stellar performance against the NC batting lineup, pitching six innings and allowing four hits, two walks, and striking out four without allowing any runs. He used 41 fastballs, 24 sliders, 13 forkballs, and 10 curves, dominating NC hitters. Thanks to Moon Dong-ju's impressive pitching, they won 4-1. This marked his fifth win of the season.

Moon Dong-ju remarked, "I had no particularly different mindset. There are good times and bad times during the season. Nevertheless, I aimed to do my best at pitching, and I think having this positive mindset in preparation led to a good result."

Moreover, the outcome of the day's pitching was a result of 'no thought, no distraction.' He said, "Honestly, it went by so fast that I couldn't even tell how it passed by. Not having too many thoughts really helped a lot. It seems that when things are not going well, I start overthinking, but it quickly moved along in a good flow."

Although there were challenges, Moon Dong-ju handled them wisely. In the second inning, he allowed a double to lead-off hitter Son Ah-seop, but he got through the following batters without any further hits. In the fourth inning, he faced consecutive hits from Kwon Hee-dong and Kim Joo-won with one out, but he got through the heart of the lineup, striking out Park Min-woo and Park Gun-woo. In the final inning, the sixth, he allowed a single to lead-off hitter Park Min-woo but did not let the crisis escalate.

Moon Dong-ju stated, "I think I have had a lot of experiences being shaken by the thought that I have to allow hits rather than walks. That's why I believe I need to accept this part and have studied it a lot. It seems like that study has shown some effects today," adding, "In the future, if I encounter a situation like today, I think I should pitch while keeping a relaxed mindset without thinking about anything else."

For now, the team is slowly recovering from the shock of last week's one win and five losses, and Moon Dong-ju is leading the way. Moon Dong-ju said, "Not much has really changed. There were disappointing elements last week. But I think it's natural to have some regrets since we were doing so well before that," emphasizing, "I believe our team will do well starting this week."

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