Professional baseball player Kim Yoon-ha (20) of the Kiwoom Heroes is aiming for his first win of the season.

Kim will start in the game against the NC Dinos in the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' on the 10th at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.

Kim, who joined Kiwoom after being selected in the first round (9th overall) of the 2024 rookie draft, is the fifth cousin of the 'Korean Express' Park Chan-ho and has garnered much attention even before his professional debut. In his debut season, he showed potential as a starting pitcher with a record of 1 win, 6 losses, and 2 holds in 19 games (79 innings) with an earned run average of 6.04. Although the earned run average was high, his ability to pitch 7 innings and 6 innings stood out.

As a result, Kiwoom entrusted Kim Yoon-ha with the crucial role of the third starter this year. With only one foreign pitcher, Kenny Rosenberg, starting the season, Kim's role was important in Kiwoom's strategy. However, Kim has not been able to deliver pitching performance as expected. This year, he is currently recording 9 losses with an earned run average of 6.59 in 12 games (57⅓ innings). During the 9 losses, he has not achieved a single win. He was also sent down to the second team for readjustment from the 12th to the 22nd of last month, but satisfactory results have not yet been achieved.

On the 29th of last month, Kim Yoon-ha pitched well against KIA, throwing 6 innings with 6 hits, 2 walks, and 3 earned runs (1 unearned run), but he did not become the winning pitcher. In the game against Lotte on the 4th, he struggled, pitching 4 innings with 6 hits, 3 walks, and 3 earned runs, but avoided the loss. Kim, who has not recorded a win or loss in two consecutive games, is narrowly avoiding becoming the fourth pitcher in KBO League history to have a single season record of 0 wins and 10 losses.

In KBO League history, the only pitchers to record 10 losses or more without a win in a season are Kwan Nae-young (SSANGBANGWOOL, 0 wins, 10 losses) in 1999, Jose Cafe-yan (Hanwha, 0 wins, 11 losses) in 2010, and Jang Si-hwan (Hanwha, 0 wins, 11 losses) in 2021. While not all losses can be fully attributed to the pitcher, it is undoubtedly a record that pitchers want to avoid.

In the game where Kim Yoon-ha is challenging for his first win, NC will have Logan Allen as the starting pitcher. Logan has recorded 3 wins, 6 losses, and an earned run average of 3.53 in 13 games (71⅓ innings) this season. This year, Logan has also had some bad luck in winning. Against Kiwoom, he has had good results in 2 games (12⅓ innings) with an earned run average of 2.92, but he has only recorded 1 loss without a win. Logan will be challenging for his first win against Kiwoom on this day.

This season, Kim has pitched only once against NC. On April 5, he pitched 3⅓ innings, allowing 7 hits (1 home run), 2 walks, and 5 earned runs, resulting in an underwhelming performance.

Kiwoom's manager Hong Won-ki pointed out that Kim Yoon-ha tends to focus too much on a single moment in the game, losing sight of the overall flow. He explained that the desire not to allow a hit to the batter at that moment leads to difficulties in pitching, as he ends up giving walks and falling apart. He is undoubtedly a pitcher capable of taking responsibility for more than 6 innings, and there are expectations for him to show an improved performance. With Kenny Rosenberg sidelined due to injury, Kiwoom desperately needs Kim Yoon-ha's resurgence to navigate the remaining season.

Everyone on the team and the fans is united in support, wondering if Kim Yoon-ha, who is having a difficult second-year season more than anyone, will show signs of improvement in this game.

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