The KIA Tigers' left-handed pitcher Yoon Young-cheol's attempt for his first win of the season ended in failure once again. He completely washed away his slump and finally regained his first-rounder appearance, but the batting lineup, heavily impacted by injuries to key players, was harsh.

On the 31st, Yoon Young-cheol took the mound as a starter in the eighth game of the season against KT Wiz at Suwon KT Wiz Park in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League, pitching 5 innings, allowing 2 hits (1 home run), 5 walks, 5 strikeouts, and 1 earned run, yet he ended up with no decision despite his solid performance of 88 pitches.

In the bottom of the first inning, which was 0-0, he allowed lead-off batter Kim Min-hyuk to reach base on a walk, but struck out Kim Sang-su and Ahn Hyun-min consecutively, and caught Mel Rojas Jr. on a foul fly to right field on the first pitch, preventing any runs.

The highlight came in the bottom of the second inning when he overcame a bases-loaded situation. After giving three consecutive walks to lead-off batter Jang Seong-woo, Moon Sang-cheol, and Heo Kyung-min, he created a bases-loaded situation. In the midst of an early large run crisis, he ended the inning by getting Bae Jung-dae to pop out to short center field, striking out Oh Yun-seok with a swing and miss after seven pitches, and handling Kim Min-hyuk with a ground ball to first base, without allowing any runs.

Yoon Young-cheol conceded his first run in the bottom of the third inning, still tied at 0-0. With two outs and no runners on base, he gave up a solo home run to Rojas. The fourth pitch, a slider thrown on a 2B-1S unfavorable count, resulted in a left-field homer.

There were no more runs allowed. After Heo Kyung-min's walk and a stolen base placed him in a scoring opportunity in the bottom of the fourth inning, he overcame it by getting Oh Yun-seok to pop out to third base. Facing the top order of KT consisting of Kim Min-hyuk, Kim Sang-su, and Ahn Hyun-min in the bottom of the fifth, he pitched a clean inning without allowing hits.

The problem lay with the batting lineup. The KIA Plan B lineup, consisting of Yoon Do-hyun, Hong Jong-pyo, Oh Sun-woo, Choi Hyung-woo, Kim Seok-hwan, Han Jun-soo, Hwang Dae-in, Kim Gyu-seong, and Kim Ho-ryeong, suffered from an atrocious lack of hits with runners in scoring position. In the top of the second with one out and a runner on second, and the top of the third with two outs and a runner on third, subsequent hits failed to materialize, and in the top of the fifth, they barely managed to score a run due to an error made by the opposing second baseman on a throw to first base after hitting safely with two outs and runners on first and second with Kim Ho-ryeong and Yoon Do-hyun.

In the bottom of the sixth, tied at 1-1, Yoon Young-cheol allowed a double to lead-off batter Rojas before being replaced by Yoon Jung-hyun, finishing the game disappointingly. Yoon Jung-hyun and Jeon Sang-hyun came in to successfully wipe out Yoon Young-cheol's inherited runner, but that did not meet the requirements for a win.

Before the game, Yoon Young-cheol's record stood at 6 games with no wins, 5 losses, and an earned run average of 8.05. After suffering five consecutive losses in his first five games, he found a turning point on the 25th against the Daegu Samsung Lions with 5 innings and 2 earned runs, achieving no decision, and on this day, he finally restored his form. However, the lineup was powerless without Kim Do-young, Na Sung-bum, and Patrick Wisdom. Yoon Young-cheol remains a winless pitcher.

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