Hanwha's Starting Pitcher Felix Peña

Hanwha starter Felix Peña 33 showed his "bloody fighting spirit" in the match against KT in Daejeon on June 27. Peña gave Hanwha a 4-1 victory with one run non-earned in seven innings, but the process was not easy.

This is because the right thumbnail part of the second inning was bleeding while pitching. Despite the unexpected "bleeding variable," Peña continued to pitch without wavering after first aid, and Hanwha was able to win five consecutive games in as many as 1,005 days.

Peña, who is playing as an ace for Hanwha's starting lineup this season, had a sluggish time due to hay fever during the opening month. He started in five games in April, leaving a somewhat disappointing record of 1-3 with a 5.48 ERA. 안전놀이터

Fellow pitcher Jang Min-jae even felt sorry about Peña's physical condition at the time, saying, "I coughed so much that I felt sorry for him when we were moving on the bus together."

Peña, who recovered his condition in May, then played the starting rotation without any major injuries with his main weapon change-up, sufficiently playing his part as the team's "first starter." He achieved 14 quality starts more than six innings and less than three earned runs in 20 games until the match against the Doosan Bears in Daejeon on the 3rd, recording 8 wins, 5 losses and a 2.69 ERA.

Until now, only eight of the 21 league pitchers who met regular innings had maintained a two-point ERA, including Peña.

Peña, who has been at the center of the Hanwha mound except for a month in April, was shaken again. He started against Suwon KT on the 9th and collapsed greatly by allowing eight runs in 4.1 innings. It was the most lost appearance this season and the first time since April that he failed to fill five innings.

Peña seemed to create an opportunity for a rebound with three runs one earned in 6.1 innings against Changwon NC on the 15th, his next appearance, and three runs two earned in 6.1 innings against Daejeon KT on the 20th.

However, Peña collapsed once again with nine hits and six runs in four innings against KIA in Gwangju on the 26th. In the game, he also pitched with a bleeding injury from his right thumbnail, but failed to avoid a defeat. His ERA also soared to 3.39.

Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho did not regain trust in Peña even when the team's ace was sluggish one after another.

Head coach Choi said, "Any starting pitcher has a hard time, and after throwing well, he suffers a slump in one or two games," adding, "Penya has had a quality start for more than 10 games, and it seems to have a period of time when it is not easy to control his condition due to frequent rain."