Rookie pitcher Jung Hyun-woo of the Korea Baseball Organization Kiwoom Heroes excelled in his return game from injury.
Jung Hyun-woo took the mound as the starting pitcher against the LG Twins on the 8th at the Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome, recording 5 innings with 2 hits allowed, no walks, 5 strikeouts, and 1 earned run. He was slated to throw 70 pitches but was substituted after 65. His fastball reached a maximum speed of 145 km/h.
In the first inning, he allowed a double to leadoff batter Shin Min-jae. He got Kim Hyun-soo out with a ground ball to second base, making it one out with a runner on third base. The runner on third scored on a ground ball out by Austin, and Jung ended the inning with a strikeout against Moon Bo-gyeong with a 145 km/h fastball.
The second inning ended with three outs in order. He struck out Moon Sung-ju with a 123 km/h slider, caught Gu Bon-hyeok with a fly ball to right field, and struck out Lee Ju-heon with a looking strikeout on a 142 km/h fastball.
In the third inning, he struck out Son Yong-jun with a 122 km/h forkball, and Park Hae-min made an out with a ground ball to first base for the second out. After retiring 8 batters in a row, he allowed a hit to Shin Min-jae. He ended the inning with a ground ball out against Kim Hyun-soo.
In the fourth inning, there was a baserunning error that allowed a runner on base, but he remained unfazed. He struck out leadoff batter Austin with a 145 km/h fastball, but a ground ball hit by Moon Bo-gyeong got past the third baseman. With one out and one runner on base, he caught Moon Sung-ju with a fly ball to left field. A wild pitch allowed the runner to advance to second base during Gu Bon-hyeok's at-bat, but he ended the inning without allowing a score, getting Gu Bon-hyeok out with a fly ball to left field.
The fifth inning also ended with three outs in order. He handled Lee Ju-heon and Son Yong-jun with ground balls, and ended the inning with a fly ball out from Park Hae-min. He was substituted with Jo Young-gun in the 6th inning, trailing 0-1.
Jung Hyun-woo was drafted first overall by Kiwoom in the 2025 rookie draft. Before this game, he had recorded 2 wins and no losses in 3 games, with an earned run average of 4.80.
Jung Hyun-woo made his professional debut against the KIA Tigers on March 26, recording a win as a starting pitcher in his debut by allowing 8 hits and 6 earned runs (4 earned runs) over 5 innings. He threw a remarkable 122 pitches, ranking second for the most pitches thrown by a high school rookie debuting.
After pitching 2 more games, he was placed on the injured list on April 17 due to a shoulder injury. He successfully made his return game against the LG line-up.
[OSEN]