'Why Jung Woo-joo in 1-5?' Hanwha Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon explains: "They haven't been doing well, so we brought them in at a slightly more comfortable timing"... Cushing's 2S appearance due to 'unfamiliarity' [Jamsil]

*This content was translated by AI.

"They are our set-up men, but they haven't been performing well..."

Jung Woo-joo, the set-up man, entered the game in the bottom of the 5th inning while Hanwha trailed 1-5. With no changes in the 6th inning, another presumed winning pitcher, Park Sang-won, was brought in. Once again, the situation unfolded where pitchers explicitly identified as the team's winning relievers were deployed while the team was losing, a move that was hard to justify. Hanwha Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon (68) explained the reasoning.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League away game against LG Twins at Jamsil Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 22nd, Manager Kim said, "Those pitchers are our set-up men, but they haven't been performing well, causing us to lose games we should have won and making things more difficult. We brought them in at a slightly earlier and more comfortable timing to help them regain confidence, and they will move back to their proper roles later."

Although designated as the team's winning relievers, their performance so far this season has been poor. Jung Woo-joo has appeared in 12 games, pitching 8⅓ innings, allowing 12 hits, 8 walks, 3 wild pitches, and 8 earned runs, with an ERA of 8.64. Park Sang-won has pitched 8 innings in 10 games, allowing 12 hits, 5 walks, and 10 earned runs, finishing with an ERA of 11.25.

Although they were designated as the team's winning relievers, it has become difficult to use them in tight lead situations as originally intended. Therefore, the explanation is that they were brought in at a more comfortable timing to allow them to pitch with less pressure.

The starting pitcher for the day is Wang Yen-ching, the ace who also serves as the Asian quota pitcher. He has been outstanding this season, appearing in 4 games, pitching 22⅔ innings, with a record of 2 wins and 1 loss and an ERA of 1.59.

Manager Kim added, "We don't know how many innings Wang Yen-ching can handle today, but I think those pitchers will be waiting. Ultimately, if they regain confidence and control, they should return to their original roles. At the same time, we hope there will come a time when we can all work together again. There will be moments of consecutive wins."

Manager Kim also explained the background behind bringing in Jack Cushing, who is serving as the interim closer in place of Kim Seo-hyun, at an early stage. With the score tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 7th inning, two outs, and runners on second base, Kim Jong-soo entered the game. He walked Moon Bo-kyung to Austin Dean but recorded two strikes against Oh Ji-hwan before suddenly bringing in Cushing. The team had already fallen behind 5-6. Moreover, since Cushing was brought in after already securing two strikes and appearing to have stabilized the situation, the move raised questions.

There was no issue with Kim Jong-soo. Manager Kim stated, "It's not a common move, but Cushing has the ability to get strikeouts, and (the opponent) hasn't seen his pitches, so we brought him in. It ended with a strikeout."

Hanwha sits in a tie for 6th place with 8 wins and 11 losses. Although there is still room for a comeback, trailing the 5th-place KIA Tigers by 1.5 games, the team needs to reverse its recent dark trend of 3 wins and 7 losses in its last 10 games.

Hanwha's lineup for the day was: Lee Won-seok (center field), Yonatan Ferrara (right field), Moon Hyun-bin (left field), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Chae Eun-seong (first base), Ha Joo-seok (second base), Kim Tae-yeon (third base), Heo In-seo (catcher), and Sim Woo-jun (shortstop).

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*This content was translated by AI.