'Taiwan's Ace' Wang Yencheng unexpectedly endured his worst season outing: 2 innings, 4 earned runs, and a "control issues → most runs allowed + fewest innings" disaster, leading to an early exit. [Changwon Field Report]

*This content was translated by AI.

The trusted axe struck the back of the foot. Wang Yencheng (25, Hanwha Eagles) was pulled early after delivering his worst performance since his KBO debut.

On the 28th at Changwon NC Park, Wang Yencheng started against the NC Dinos in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League away game, throwing 62 pitches over 2 innings. He allowed 6 hits (including 1 home run), 3 walks/strikeouts, recorded 2 strikeouts, and surrendered 4 earned runs, performing poorly.

This was an unexpected result, especially since he had been serving as Hanwha's de facto one-two punch alongside Ryu Hyun-jin. In 10 starts this season, Wang Yencheng has pitched 56⅓ innings, posting a 5-2 record with a 2.72 ERA, demonstrating strong performance.

He was leading the team in both innings pitched and strikeouts. Even across the entire league, his ERA ranked third, and his win total tied for fourth, making him a pitcher of significant importance to the team.

That is why the outcome was even more shocking. He threw 36 pitches in the first inning alone. He hit leadoff batter Kim Joo-won with a pitch, then, while facing a 2-0 count against Lee Woo-seong, a pitch intended to secure a strike resulted in a hit. After an 8-pitch battle with Park Geon-woo, he issued a walk.

With the bases loaded and no outs, Wang Yencheng got Matt Davidson to strike out swinging and induced a fly ball to right field from Kwon Hee-dong, allowing him to catch his breath. However, he then walked Kim Hyung-jun again, surrendering the first run on a bases-loaded walk, before retiring Kim Han-byul on a groundout to the shortstop to end the inning. The focus should have been on minimizing runs.

In the second inning, he became the victim of Park Si-won's first home run of the season. Although Park Si-won had not hit a home run since May 7 of last year, he swung aggressively at a 145 km/h fastball on the first pitch, sending it well over the right-field wall.

After finishing the second inning without allowing additional runs, Wang Yencheng returned for the third inning but showed no improvement. He gave up a single to left field after a fastball to Park Geon-woo, and hit a 1-RBI double to center field against Davidson, who had been struggling at the plate.

Eventually, the Hanwha bench made a move. Yoon San-heum allowed consecutive hits, and a inherited runner scored, increasing Wang Yencheng's earned run total to 4.

Wang Yencheng, who had never been pulled before the 5th inning in his KBO career, had also never allowed 4 or more runs. He was pulled after just 2 innings, recording the most runs allowed in his KBO debut, and found himself in a losing position.

His fastball topped out at just 147 km/h today. However, the real issue was control. His strike percentage was only 56.5% (35 out of 62 pitches), and the most painful aspect was the vicious cycle of eventually giving up hits when facing unfavorable counts.

Wang Yencheng's ERA rose from 2.72 to 3.24, and after a three-game winning streak, he now faces his third loss of the season.

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*This content was translated by AI.