Hanwha Eagles pitcher Um Sang-bak did not complete 5 innings in his first appearance after his free-agent move.
On the 26th, Um took the mound as a starting pitcher in the KBO League game against LG at the Seoul Jamsil Stadium, recording 4⅔ innings pitched, 6 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks, 1 hit by pitch, 5 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs. He was replaced while trailing 0-2.
Um was in trouble from the first inning. He got leadoff hitter Hong Chang-ki to ground out to second base for his first out, but he then allowed a single to Moon Sung-joo. He followed that up by giving up another single to Austin, putting runners on first and second with one out. However, he escaped the jam by getting Moon Bo-kyung, who has a batting average of .545, to hit into a double play.
In the second inning, he allowed two runners. He struck out leadoff hitter Oh Ji-hwan. However, he walked Kim Hyun-soo and then gave up a single to Park Dong-won. The ball bounced over the shortstop and rolled into the outfield. The runner on first reached third, and while the throw went to third base, the batter-runner also reached second base, but he was tagged out in a relay play from the center fielder to third baseman to shortstop. With two outs and a runner on third, he escaped the threat by striking out Park Hae-min.
In the third inning, he allowed the first run. He gave up a single to leadoff hitter Shin Min-jae. With Hong Chang-ki at bat, runner Shin Min-jae succeeded in stealing second base. After Hong Chang-ki grounded out to first base, there was one out with a runner on third. A sacrifice fly by Moon Sung-joo allowed the runner on third to score.
In the fourth inning, Um gave up a bomb to leadoff hitter Moon Bo-kyung. On a 1-ball, 1-strike count, he threw a 133km slider, which was hit over the center field wall for a solo home run.
After giving up the home run, he struck out Oh Ji-hwan. He walked Kim Hyun-soo, and then recorded another strikeout against Park Dong-won. However, with two outs and a runner on first, he allowed Park Hae-min to hit a double that bounced off the outfield wall after going over the right fielder's head. There were runners on second and third with two outs. He escaped the additional scoring threat by getting Shin Min-jae to fly out to left field.
In the fifth inning, he allowed leadoff hitter Hong Chang-ki to reach base on a hit by pitch. He got Moon Sung-joo out on a fly ball to right field and then recorded two outs against Austin with a ground ball back to the pitcher. His pitch count reached 86. The next batter was Moon Bo-kyung, who had previously hit a home run. Hanwha decided to replace Um Sang-bak with Lee Tae-yang as the second pitcher.
Um became a free agent after finishing the season with the KT Wiz last year. Hanwha signed him to a four-year contract worth a maximum of 7.8 billion won (with a signing bonus of 3.4 billion won, a total salary of 3.25 billion won, and 1.15 billion won in options) to bolster their starting lineup.
Um recorded a season with 29 games, 13 wins, and 10 losses with an earned run average of 4.88 last year at KT. Against LG, he recorded 2 games with 1 win and 1 loss and an earned run average of 8.44. He became the winning pitcher on June 23, allowing 2 earned runs over 5 innings, and he became the losing pitcher on August 30 after allowing 11 hits and 8 earned runs over 5⅔ innings.
Um Sang-bak, wearing the Hanwha uniform, faced LG in his first appearance of the 2025 season but was replaced while at risk of losing.
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