Hanwha Eagles starter Hwang Jun-seo pitches against the LG Twins during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on May 27, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Hanwha Eagles pitcher Hwang Jun-seo was a hard-luck loser Tuesday night against the LG Twins, getting saddled with the “L” in the box score despite holding the opponents to two runs in five solid innings.
A day after the Eagles’ 2-1 loss at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, manager Kim Kyung-moon said he couldn’t have asked for more from his second-year left-hander.
“He did more than his part,” Kim said of the placeholder in the back end of the Eagles’ rotation that’s missing a couple of pitchers. “Even though we didn’t ultimately win the game, I saw some hope for an even better outing from him next time.”
Hwang gave up three hits and two runs in the bottom of the first inning but then didn’t allow any more hits over his next four innings. The Eagles’ lineup, though, managed just five hits and a run against starter Im Chan-kyu and two relievers that followed him.
“I think Jun-seo went out there thinking he has to come through for the team, given our situation,” Kim said. “He probably shouldn’t have given up those early runs. But also, he didn’t get any help from his teammates, either.”
Hwang arrived in the Korea Baseball Organization with high expectations in 2024, as the No. 1 overall pick in the previous year’s draft. He split his rookie season between the rotation and the bullpen, and went 2-8 with one hold and a 5.38 ERA in 36 appearances. He had 70 strikeouts in 72 innings but also walked 51.
So far this year, Hwang is 0-1 in two games with a 3.24 ERA.
From the rotation that opened the season, the Eagles are currently without Um Sang-back, who was demoted to the minors on May 16 amid early-season woes. Then on Monday, the Eagles removed Moon Dong-ju from the active roster to give him a breather after 10 starts.
Moon is not dealing with any physical issues and is expected to be back after spending the required 10 days off the roster.
(Yonhap)
