'Taking on Hanwha's Fate in Crisis': Kim Seo-hyun and Jung Woo-ju Call-Up Confirmed, "Things Will Be Different Again at the First Team," Coach Dal Believes

*This content was translated by AI.

Can they become an elite rescue duo to save the struggling Hanwha Eagles? Kim Seo-hyun (22) and Jung Woo-ju (20) are set to join the first team ahead of next week's six-game home series.

Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon (68), who was scheduled to face the Samsung Lions in the season's 13th game at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 16th, met with reporters after the match was canceled and stated, "He is currently in Ulsan. He will travel today, rest tomorrow, and join us on Tuesday."

Hanwha sits in ninth place with a record of eight wins, 13 losses, and one tie in the second half of the season. While they were aiming for a playoff spot from sixth place, they now trail fifth-place KIA Tigers by six games.

While the overall balance between hitting and pitching has been off, the collapse of the bullpen is particularly painful. The bullpen's ERA in the second half stands at 6.37, ranking ninth.

With no clear solution in sight, the decision was made to call up Kim Seo-hyun and Jung Woo-ju. Earlier, Manager Kim had expressed hope that "once these two players join, they will have experience from last year's pitching and might feel a bit more energized," noting he would decide on their call-up after observing their performance in two or three Futures League games. Both pitchers have since thrown scoreless outings in their last three consecutive appearances.

On the 15th against the Ulsan Whales, Jung Woo-ju entered in the bottom of the sixth inning with his team trailing 2-6. He struck out Ye Jin-won, induced a flyout to right field from No Kyung-min, and recorded another strikeout via a swinging miss from Kim Soo-in.

Jung Woo-ju, who had struggled throughout this season, was sent to the second team last month due to shoulder pain and focused solely on recovery without appearing in any games. After recording a scoreless inning with one hit allowed and one walk against Samsung Lions on the 12th, followed by another scoreless inning with two hits allowed and two strikeouts against Samsung on the 14th, he delivered a perfect outing today, striking out two batters to complete his preparation for return to the first team.

Kim Seo-hyun took over from Jung Woo-ju in the seventh inning, inducing a flyout to left field from Park Min-seok. He then allowed a straight walk to left-handed batter Kim Seo-won but caught Choi Jun-seo with a flyout to right field. With one out and a runner on first base, he induced a flyout to right field from Ha Jae-hoon, but a fielding error allowed the runner to score. Since this run was due to an error, it was not charged as an earned run. In Choi Ji-man's at-bat, he retired the inning by having the catcher throw out runner Ha Jae-hoon attempting to steal second base.

Hanwha's closer Kim Seo-hyun, who recorded 33 saves last year, also faced severe control issues this season, shuttling between the first and second teams. Last month, he even traveled to Japan in an effort to regain his command. In his recent three appearances, however, he has thrown no-hit pitching. Although two walks were issued, his performance looks significantly different from before.

Manager Kim stated, "Woo-ju was fine, but Seo-hyun still had some issues against left-handed batters. However, I believe that once these players pitch in the first team with crowds present, things will change for them." He added, "Even if they cannot immediately take over as a winner or closer, if they contribute one role at a time in important situations, it will help us secure consecutive victories."

Hanwha is in desperate need of a winning streak. In this regard, next week's schedule is crucial. They face six home games, starting with KIA. Depending on the results of the three-game series, they could close the gap by up to three games. Expectations are high as Hanwha held a narrow advantage over LG this season with a record of six wins and five losses.

Most importantly, if Kim Seo-hyun and Jung Woo-ju join and strengthen the back end of the bullpen, the team's overall stability is expected to improve significantly.

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*This content was translated by AI.