"Winning is very precious these days," Wang Yencheng erases 305-minute nightmare, Kim Kyung-moon praises again and again... Expectations for Lee-seong MVP [Daejeon on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

Kim Kyung-moon (68), the oldest manager in the KBO League, did not hold back his praise for Wang Yencheng (25), whose outstanding performance made the 305th-minute grudge match seem like a distant dream.

Manager Kim Kyung-moon said on the 10th, ahead of the home game against LG Twins at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season, "Winning is extremely precious these days, and I must praise Wang Yencheng."

He continued, "When we miss games we should win, the manager worries a lot. Our pitching and hitting balance has been off for some time, but the players showed great effort overall in this game," encouraging the team.

Hanwha started the first game of this year's home series against LG with a loss. Despite several opportunities to win, they failed to capitalize and lost 8-9 in an 11-inning extra-inning battle. Most notably, even after using seven pitchers in the longest game of the year lasting 5 hours and 5 minutes, they could not secure a win, making the batting performance appear even more critical.

However, Wang Yencheng delivered a quality start (6+ innings with 3 or fewer earned runs), allowing 7 hits, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts over 6⅓ innings while giving up only 3 earned runs, leading the team to an 11-3 victory and completely turning the tide. Thanks to Wang Yencheng's ability to pitch long innings, the team could rely on just three relief pitchers, making a full-strength effort possible for the game on the 10th.

Starting pitchers who had been sidelined due to injury are expected to return one by one starting next week. First, Owen White, who suffered a hamstring injury, joined the first-division roster after approximately six weeks of rehabilitation.

Will Hernandez, who has been dealing with elbow pain, also participated in bullpen pitching and is expected to make a starting rotation appearance next week. While a specific debut schedule has not yet been confirmed, it is crucial to endure until then and maximize the win-loss margin to turn it positive.

On this day, Lee-seong, a player developed through the training program, will take the mound. Lee-seong graduated from Yeongil Elementary, Yeongnam Middle, Chungam High School, and Cheongwon University before joining Hanwha as a training program player this year. He is a right-handed pitcher and shares the same name as Park Jun-young (23, 2022 2nd Round 1st Pick), who started against LG on the 8th in Daejeon.

This year, in the Futures League, he recorded 7 games, 4 wins, no losses, an ERA of 1.29, 28 innings, 22 strikeouts, and a batting average against of 0.186, leading both the Southern and Northern Leagues in ERA. On the 7th, he and teammate Bae Seung-soo (23) were awarded the 2026 Medihill KBO Futures League March-April Medihill Futures Rookie of the Month award.

Manager Kim Kyung-moon stated, "Park Jun-young performed well in the Futures League. Additionally, the newly appointed pitching coach Park Seung-min recommended him based on his Futures League performance. I also felt he should get a chance to pitch in this situation, so he was used today."

He added, "Since he has consistently started in the Futures League, there is no concern about pitch count. It is good to be able to pitch for a long time. Starting pitchers are the ones who can control the win-loss record." Expecting him to pitch more than five innings, he noted, "Fortunately, tomorrow (Monday, the 11th) is a day off. We are currently in a situation where we must diligently reduce the win-loss margin one by one in the minor leagues, so it may vary depending on the circumstances. For today's game, we plan to utilize the pitchers more actively."

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*This content was translated by AI.