The NC Dinos are on a bitter losing streak in baseball. However, the rookie pitcher is expected to turn things around.

NC lost 3-4 in 11 innings of extra innings against the Doosan Bears at NC Park in Changwon on Friday. After escaping an eight-game losing streak, the NC fell back into a three-game losing streak. The team also faced a bitter defeat in extra innings for the second consecutive day following the previous day's game. Worst form in the last 12 games, 1-12-1. Their record is now 28-31-1, slipping further and further away from the 5% win rate.

On this day, NC set the tone early on. They took the lead in the second inning on a leadoff single by Seo Ho-cheol and a solo shot by Park Gun-woo in the third. Starter Kim Si-hoon was doing a great job, giving up only one hit until the bottom of the fourth inning. In the bottom of the fourth, he gave up a double to Yang Ji, but struck out Kim Jae-hwan to end the game.

By the end of the fourth inning, he had thrown just 65 pitches. The pace was good enough to get through the fifth and into the sixth inning. But in the sixth inning, things went south. Doosan's Jeon Min-jae stole second and then third base, but was thrown out at the plate. NC got lucky. They got two outs easily, but two batters later, Kim Si-hoon self-destructed. He gave up a walk to Kim Jae-ho, 안전놀이터 an infield single to Cho Su-sung, and another walk to Jung Soo-bin to load the bases with two outs, then gave up a pushing single to Heo Kyung-min. Ramos then got a grounder to first base, but he needed 35 more pitches to reach 100 in the fifth inning. His five innings of three hits, four walks, eight strikeouts, and one earned run did not go unnoticed. He gave up a tying sacrifice fly to Jae-hwan Kim in the sixth inning. It was 2-2.

NC couldn't capitalize on their chances, and their trusted pitchers went down one after another. In the bottom of the ninth, Kim Hui-jip and Seo Ho-cheol got lucky infield singles to put runners on first and second, but Kim Hyung-joon and Kim Joo-won struck out in succession to end the game.

In the top of the 10th inning, Heo gave up a double to Kyung-min Heo, but the team fought back in the bottom of the inning and had the bases loaded. But after Davidson struck out, Choi Jung-won tied the game at 3-3 on a wild pitch. The tying and go-ahead runs were put on second and third, but Choi struck out and pinch-hitter Kim Sung-wook grounded into a double play to end the inning.

In the 11th inning of extra innings, they were unable to tie the game against pinch-hitter Kang Seung-ho, and the loss was their second straight extra-inning defeat and third straight loss.

NC was unable to break the losing streak despite ace Kyle Hart's seven innings of one-run (unearned) relief the previous day (April 4). On this day, Kim Si-hoon also showed his limitations and couldn't go one step further. The situation is not good and there is no point of reversal.

With the frustrating performance continuing, NC was once again in trouble. They will have to rely on their rookie of the year, Lee Sang-hyun. Lee Jae-hak is just recovering from inflammation of the middle finger tendon in his right hand. A replacement had to be found, and NC announced Clinical Hyun, the 15th overall pick in the second round of this year's rookie draft, as the starter. The Daegu Sangwon High School graduate was described by NC as “an all-weather resource with excellent durability and completeness. He knows how to run a stable game without ups and downs and has a variety of changeup pitches. We expect him to become a powerhouse resource in the near future."

NC has tried Lee Jae-hak, Shin Young-woo, Lee Yong-joon, and Lee Joon-ho as substitutes for Castano's injury, but hasn't found a clear answer. In a cliffhanger situation, head coach Kang Kwon-hyung had to make the choice to once again entrust a rookie with a key role. "He's a rookie right now, but he's been in the starting rotation for the Futures. He's not in bad shape and has good stuff,” Kang explained.

Currently, Hyun is 1-2 with a 2.30 ERA (7 earned runs in 27 1/3 innings) in seven games in the Futures League. He has 35 strikeouts and a 1.17 K/BB ratio. Those are good numbers for a pitcher with his stuff. His most recent start in the Futures League was on May 28 against KIA, where he pitched five innings of three-hit ball, walked four, struck out six, and gave up two earned runs.

With his team in a downward spiral, can he deliver a gutsy pitching performance to turn things around?