Could the right-handed fireballer Moon Dong-ju become the savior of the last-place Hanwha Eagles, overcoming bear phobia?

The professional baseball Hanwha Eagles are preparing for their first season matchup against the Doosan Bears in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League on the 8th at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. This is the first game of a three-game series this week.

Hanwha is in last place with a record of 4 wins and 9 losses, while Doosan stands in 5th place with a record of 6 wins and 7 losses. Hanwha finished 1 win and 2 losses in the weekend series against the Daegu Samsung Lions, and Doosan ended with 2 wins and 1 loss against the Sajik Lotte Giants. Last season's head-to-head record was favorable to Hanwha at 10 wins and 6 losses.

In order to gain an early advantage in the three-game series, Hanwha announced that right-handed fireballer Moon Dong-ju would be the starting pitcher. Moon's season record is 0 wins and 1 loss with an earned run average of 5.14 over 2 games, and he faced his first loss after a rough outing against Lotte in Daejeon, where he allowed 4 hits (1 home run) and 4 earned runs in 2 innings. He could not carry the momentum from his previous start on March 27 against the LG Twins at Jamsil, where he pitched 5 innings with only 1 hit allowed, no walks, 6 strikeouts, and no earned runs.

Last year's matchup against Doosan was a nightmare for Moon Dong-ju. He recorded 1 win and 3 losses with an earned run average of 12.42 (23 earned runs over 16⅔ innings) and allowed 5 home runs with 11 walks. It started with a loss on April 10 in Jamsil after allowing 6 earned runs in 3⅓ innings, followed by a disaster in Daejeon on April 28, where he gave up 9 earned runs, including 3 home runs, in another 3⅓ innings, resulting in another loss, and he experienced a rough outing again in Daejeon on June 26, where he allowed 7 earned runs over 4 innings, leading to a 3-game losing streak.

The encouraging thing is that he successfully healed his bear phobia in their last matchup. On September 3, in Daejeon, during his last start of the season, he achieved his first win with a quality start, pitching 6 innings while allowing 4 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 8, giving up only 1 earned run.

In response, Doosan counters with left-handed rookie Choi Seung-yong. Doosan's 4th starter Choi Seung-yong has a season record of 1 win and no losses with an earned run average of 3.97 over 2 games, and in his most recent outing on the 2nd against the Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil, he recorded his first quality start after throwing 6 innings and allowing 3 earned runs, but he did not earn a decision. Last year against Hanwha, he made a relief appearance on August 23 in Jamsil, throwing 1 inning with 2 hits allowed and no earned runs.

In addition, both teams excluded key players from the first team on the 7th when there were no games. Hanwha's Ahn Chi-hong, who has a batting average of .067 in 10 games, was sent to Seosan for reconditioning, and Doosan's versatile player Lee Yoo-chan suffered an injury to the medial collateral ligament of his left elbow after colliding with catcher Yoo Kang-nam while sliding headfirst into home plate during the game against Lotte on the 6th. A Doosan official noted, “He will be in a splint for a week, and a follow-up examination is scheduled for three weeks later.”

Additionally, Hanwha notified outfielder Lim Jong-chan and rookie pitcher Kwon Min-kyu of their demotions to the second team, while both teams plan to register several new faces to the first team roster ahead of today's game.

[OSEN]