Last year, left-handed pitcher Kyle Hart (33, San Diego Padres) who played for the NC Dinos in the KBO League and won the Choi Dong-won Award was removed from the game just before earning a win in his Major League Baseball return. He was expected to become the second Eric Peddy (32, St. Louis Cardinals) from the same NC team, but reality is different.

Hart started the home game against the Miami Marlins in the 2025 Major League Baseball season on the 29th (Korean time) and pitched for 4⅔ innings, allowing 6 hits (2 home runs), no walks, and striking out 1 while giving up 5 runs. He did not record a win or loss, and his season ERA soared from 6.00 to 6.66.

This was Hart's first Major League Baseball return game in 36 days since the game against the Detroit Tigers on the 23rd of last month. He began the season as the fifth starter but struggled with 2 wins and 2 losses over 5 games (21 innings) and an ERA of 6.00, which led to his demotion to the minor leagues. After performing well with 2 wins and an ERA of 2.29 over 4 games (19⅔ innings) at Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas, he was given another opportunity. Hart was called up after San Diego's ace Michael King went on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.

In the first inning, Hart allowed one hit but retired the other three batters to start strong. In the second inning, he struck out Jesus Sanchez looking, completing a three-up, three-down. In the third inning, he permitted a solo home run to Augustin Ramirez, marking his first runs allowed. However, he remained steady in the fourth inning, retiring the side without any additional runs.

In the fourth inning, the San Diego lineup produced a big inning with 5 runs, combining 4 hits, 3 walks, and 1 sacrifice fly, and Hart took the mound in the fifth inning with a comfortable 6-1 lead, needing just one more out to earn a win. He was expected to comfortably meet the requirements for a win, but that was not the case. After one out in the fifth, he allowed a solo home run to Sanchez, followed by a double to Javier Sano. He recorded the second out with a fly ball to right field off Victor Mesa Jr., but Ramirez drove in another run with a timely hit.

San Diego pitching coach Ruben Nieblas came to the mound to break the momentum, but Hart allowed a single to the next batter, Eric Wagerman. With a crisis of two outs and runners on first and second, San Diego manager Mike Schilt came to the mound himself. With a 6-3 lead and only one out remaining for the win requirement, Hart was replaced. He had thrown 57 pitches.

Reliever David Morgan allowed a three-run home run to Otto Lopez, resulting in a failed pitching change. The game was tied at 6-6, and Hart's total runs allowed increased to 5. While the three-run home run given up by Morgan was disappointing, Hart's responsibility for faltering from a comfortable 5-run lead was even greater.

He threw a maximum speed of 92.4 mph (148.7 km/h) and an average of 90.8 mph (146.1 km/h) with 8 four-seam fastballs and 5 sinkers, but he threw more sliders (33) and changeups (11). Only 3 of the sliders induced swings and misses from batters. The low-falling breaking balls were also flat enough to result in hits. His fastball velocity has dropped since last year in Korea, leading to a loss of effectiveness in his breaking balls.

Hart performed well last year, recording 13 wins and 3 losses with an ERA of 2.69 over 26 games (157 innings) for NC. He ranked first in strikeouts, second in ERA, and third in wins, earning the Choi Dong-won Award, given to the best pitcher. Building on this performance, he signed a guaranteed one-year contract worth $1.5 million and a maximum of $8.5 million over two years with San Diego in February. After a five-year absence since his time with the Boston Red Sox in 2020, he successfully returned to Major League Baseball and made the opening roster, but he is experiencing the high barriers of returning to the minor leagues.

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