Moon Dong-ju of the Hanwha Eagles will be on the mound as a first-team starter for the first time in 23 days. Will Moon Dong-joo, who returned after reorganization at the beginning of the season, be a little disappointing despite the growing expectations, show a different side?
Hanwha will play a home game against the LG Twins in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 21st. Hanwha, which was on the verge of falling to the bottom, won 12-2 in the game against Samsung in Daegu on the 19th, led by starter Ryu Hyun-jin's good pitching and an explosion in the batting lineup, and succeeded in escaping its fourth consecutive loss. 9th place with a season record of 17 wins, 1 draw, and 28 losses.
With the win on the 19th, they avoided falling to last place, but the gap between them and the 10th-place Lotte Giants (15 wins, 2 draws, 27 losses) could be reversed at any time in just a half-hour. Hanwha, seeking a rebound, will appoint Moon Dong-ju as its starting pitcher on the 21st.
Moon Dong-ju, last year's rookie of the year, started this season with high expectations, but got off to a disappointing start with 1 win and 2 losses in 6 games and an ERA of 8.78. In particular, in the game against Doosan in Daejeon on the 28th of last month, he performed poorly, allowing 10 hits (3 home runs), 2 walks, 1 strikeout, and 9 runs in 3⅓ innings, the most runs in a single game. In the end, he was expunged from the first team entry the next day and decided to take time to readjust.
At the time, coach Choi Won-ho said, "Before the season started, we had talked about missing 10 days if he was not in good condition. Recently, Dong-ju was feeling a little unwell for various reasons, so we decided that it would be better for him to come back after recovery and maintenance. “I plan to skip one turn and prepare for the next turn,” he said.
The original plan was to call up immediately after 10 days of reorganization. However, the time of return was later than expected. The pitching balance was judged by the coaching staff and him to be too difficult for him to pitch in the first team. Rookie Jo Dong-wook completed a successful debut in the empty spot created by Moon Dong-joo's delayed return.
Afterwards, Moon Dong-ju took the mound in the Futures League against the Samsung 2nd team held at Gyeongsan Ball Park in Daegu on the 14th, and showed his game sense by recording 1 hit, 1 strikeout, and no runs in 1 inning. And the game against LG on the 21st will be his first appearance in the first team in 23 days.
It may be a bit of a burdensome situation. At a time when your ranking could drop with just one loss, your opponent is LG ace Casey Kelly. Moreover, Hanwha is currently in dire need of Moon Dong-joo's good pitching as both Felix Peña and Ricardo Sanchez are out of the lineup due to injuries. As the week begins, will Moon Dong-joo, who returns, show his growth ‘once again’?
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