Your nail partner is Jehwanyu? KIA is anxious even if it overwhelms the starting matchup → 9th place bullpen time bomb in the second half of the year

Aug 17, 2025

Your nail partner is Jehwanyu? KIA is anxious even if it overwhelms the starting matchup → 9th place bullpen time bomb in the second half of the year
A game between the Doosan Bears and the KIA Tigers at Jamsil Stadium on the 15th. KIA manager Lee Bum-ho visited the mound himself in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out and runners on the first base. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.15/



Your nail partner is Jehwanyu? KIA is anxious even if it overwhelms the starting matchup → 9th place bullpen time bomb in the second half of the year
A game between the Doosan Bears and the KIA Tigers at Jamsil Stadium on the 15th. KIA Jung Hae-young is pitching hard. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.15/
I don't feel safe even if I get overwhelmed in the starting matchup. The bullpen exposes the ups and downs, so I can't catch it. KIA Tigers are troubled by the crackdown on the back door.

KIA announced a foreign ace nail as the starting pitcher for the Doosan Bears match in the 2025 KBO League in Jamsil on the 17th. Doosan's starting pitcher is rookie Je Hwan-yu. He is in his sixth year as a professional player who joined in 2020, but he is unfamiliar because he has played in three games in the first team.

Considering the name of the starting pitcher, KIA is expected to win easily.




Nail went 7-2 with a 2.26 ERA in 22 games this season. He has a 1.41 ERA with two wins and no losses in the last five games. The game against Doosan this season is also observed with a 3.57 ERA with two wins and no losses. There is only one loss against Doosan in total. He has 4 wins and 1 loss with a 3.29 ERA. There have been only two games in which nail has lost more than four points this year. The success rate of quality starts is 77% (17/22).

Je Hwan-yu will make his first start since his professional debut. He is a top prospect who was selected as the 19th overall pick in the second round of the 2020 rookie draft. This year, he participated twice as a relief pitcher. He allowed one run in one inning against KT on July 4 and one scoreless inning against Kiwoom on August 8. Je Hwan-yu had an opportunity as Doosan's fifth starter Choi Min-seok was removed from the rotation for a break. Doosan's acting manager Cho Sung-hwan highly praised Ryu, saying, `The highest class among pitchers who can use a curve as a crystal ball.'

For Doosan, it can be seen as a great success even if Je Hwan-yu stops five innings.




Your nail partner is Jehwanyu? KIA is anxious even if it overwhelms the starting matchup → 9th place bullpen time bomb in the second half of the year
A game between the Doosan Bears and the KIA Tigers at Jamsil Stadium on the 15th. KIA coach Lee Dong-gul is catching his breath. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.15/
Your nail partner is Jehwanyu? KIA is anxious even if it overwhelms the starting matchup → 9th place bullpen time bomb in the second half of the year
The game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 5th, and the nail on the first and second bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth inning are happy after dealing with Reyes with a double play. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.05/
Considering the recent bullpen turmoil, KIA is not relieved even if Nail holds out seven innings. KIA ranks ninth with a 5.20 bullpen ERA in the second half.

KIA suffered a shocking upset loss to Doosan on both the 15th and 16th. On the 15th, he allowed the game to be tied at the bottom of the ninth inning with a 5-4 lead. I went to the 11th inning and lost 5-6. On the 16th, he fell behind 1-2 in the top of the ninth inning and fell 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, falling behind again 3-4.

In addition, Kia's closer Jung Hae-young was caught in three consecutive games. It is uncertain whether he will play in the game on the 17th.




KIA should see the game as early as possible as it is advantageous in the starting match. The odds are high only when the score gap is widened before the fifth inning to allow Doosan to operate the game as a chasing group, not a must-win group.



Reporter Han Dong-hoon dhhan@sportschosun.com



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.