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Kiwoom started the season with its first and second starting pitchers both falling apart. First starting pitcher Ariel Furado allowed seven runs in four innings against Kia (on Sunday), and second starting pitcher Enmanuel de Heissus allowed five runs (four earned) in 3.1 innings against NC (on Sunday). Korean starting pitcher Kim Sun-ki also collapsed by allowing five runs against NC (on Sunday). All three starters failed to complete five innings.

His batting average is also at the bottom of the standings with a batting average of 0.206 so far on Thursday. He is more than 10 percent shorter than Doosan (0.317), the lead in this category.

All losses cannot be attributed simply to poor batting average. Hanwha, which ranks ninth in the team's batting average of 0.208, is performing fairly well with three wins and one loss. This is because the team is winning the selection battle. The team's ERA is 2.57, ranking second only to Kia (2.00), which ranks first. As the pitching staff, including starters, are good at blocking the team, the team is still winning despite its poor batting performance.

However, Kiwoom is sluggish in its pitching staff as well. It ranks ninth in the league with a whopping 8.25. Its WHIP per inning is also the lowest at 2.17. The figure is more than twice that of Kia, which ranks first.

Kiwoom made the 2024 season the first year of its rebuilding. Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants) and Ahn Woo-jin (military service) who were the backbone of its team until last season were both absent at the same time. Nevertheless, it recruited 14 rookies through draft picks, which it steadily collected without recruiting large players. And six of them were registered for the opening entry.

On the other hand, the current situation is unfortunate. Four rookie pitchers (Jeon Joon-pyo, Kim Yoon-ha, Son Hyun-ki, and Kim Yeon-joo) have played a total of 11 innings so far on Thursday. Two rookie infielders (Lee Jae-sang and Ko Young-woo) have also played in a total of eight times at bat. This happened during the three games.

It seems to be on a similar path to Hanwha, which has been at the bottom of the three consecutive seasons since 2020 and only ranked ninth in 2023, and has been flying like a wing from the 2024 season. Hanwha has gathered the best prospects in the country with the first nomination rights it received by ranking 10th, and strengthened its pitching and hitting by recruiting large-scale recruits such as Ryu Hyun-jin and Ahn Chi-hong ahead of this season in time for them to be in full bloom.

In the end, where the eagle (Hanwha) sat for the past three years, the hero corps (Kium) that has been sitting since last season may live on the floor for a long time. If they want to escape from the bottom, they must succeed in rebuilding. To that end, Kiwoom is struggling again today. If they fail to find a solution, they could suffer from a nightmare of 100 losses.