Samsung's super emergency!' Wontaein's ear manning elbow pain... Okinawa is leaving. "A thorough examination is scheduled in Korea." [Okinawa Station]

*This content was translated by AI.

The favorite Samsung Lions are on high alert. Following Won Tae-in (26), foreign pitcher Matt Manning (28) left Okinawa due to elbow pain.

An official from the Samsung club said on the 26th, "Manning returned to Korea after the match against Hanwha on the 24th due to elbow pain and underwent a thorough examination. We will enter as soon as the flight is arranged," he said.

Earlier on the 24th, Manning started a practice game against the Hanwha Eagles at Akama Ball Park in Onnason, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, and went down without completing the first inning with three hits, four outs and four runs in ⅔ innings without striking out.

I couldn't catch the out count. Leading hitter Oh Jae-won walked and Jonathan Peraza got on base with a hit to the right. He caught Kang Baek-ho with a ground ball to the second base, but Chae Eun-sung hit a timely hit in the left-center. Han Ji-yoon was handled with a fly ball, but the batter took a single step as Ha Joo-seok walked, allowed Shim Woo-joon to pitch, and gave up extra hits and walks to Jang Kyu-hyun and Choi Yoo-bin.

In the end, the first inning ended as it was due to the limit on the number of pitches in 40 pitches. I thought I simply didn't get better, but there was a bigger thing waiting for me: injury.

With ace Ariel Furado unable to attend camp due to his participation in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), Manning's role seemed important. On top of that, even native ace Won Tae-in was diagnosed with the first stage of the right elbow flexor muscle, and he fell to the WBC national team and was uncertain until the opening game, so Samsung faced difficulties from the start.

Manning is a right-hander who was acquired for $1 million this season and was highly anticipated because he was a first-round Major League rookie draft player. The Samsung club said, "With an average four-seam fastball speed of 152km, he has excellent pitching and various pitches such as sweeper, curve, splitter, and slider. "He is a pitcher who has been mentioned as a priority recruitment target for KBO and Japanese professional baseball (NPB) clubs in recent years," he explained, raising expectations.

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*This content was translated by AI.