Hanwha Eagles is making a splash in the KBO League. It’s more than expected.
Hanwha had a landslide 14-3 victory at a match against the KT Wiz in Daejeon on March 31. After losing the opening game, the Hanwha Eagles won seven consecutive games to maintain its lone No. 1 ranking (7-1 loss).
Each team plays 144 games in the KBO League. If you are lucky enough to play at the beginning of the season, you will be the winner unexpectedly. In fact, Lotte Giants ranked first until May 3 last year, drawing keen attention from fans. However, Lotte ranked seventh in the final ranking. It also failed to advance to the fall baseball league. This was due to bullpen and batters’ return to their previous performances.
In contrast, Hanwha’s 2024 index is a little more positive. In particular, the starting lineup is solid. Ryu, who had been active in the Major League Baseball until the previous season, returned to his team. Ryu lost in the opening game on April 23, but since then, all four pitchers from the second starting pitcher to the fifth starting pitcher displayed good pitching to win the game. Ryu also garnered two runs with nine strikeouts in six innings at the opening game at home on April 29. Felix Peña, who took the mound for the second time on Tuesday, secured his second win in two games. Hanwha’s starting lineup is solid enough to be joking that Ryu Hyun-jin is the fifth starting pitcher.
The “high point” of the Hanwha Eagles’ starting lineup is not that high. Other pitchers except Ryu Hyun-jin are not considered as good as starting pitchers in the league. Peña and Ricardo Sanchez were sluggish last year due to pollen allergy and exposure to pitching habits, respectively. Moon Dong-ju, who won the Rookie of the Year award with eight wins and eight losses and an ERA of 3.72, also has no experience in playing regular innings.
Instead, it has a high “low point.” Regardless of which ace he faces, Ryu Hyun-jin, who is competitive, has retained the starting position, and has three pitchers as good as starting second instead. He seems to be washing away anxiety factors. Unlike last year, Peña has not suffered from poor ball control or allergies at the beginning of the season. Sanchez, who has broken his pitching habit, changed his pitch design after consulting with his club.
Moon Dong-joo, who was worried about not increasing his ball speed before the opening, threw a fastball with a maximum speed of 158.8km/h in his first appearance. On top of that, Kim Min-woo, who experienced a full-time starting pitcher for three consecutive years, and succeeded in recovering his ball power last winter, filled the fifth starting position. All five starting pitchers have the ability to prevent at least five innings with less than three runs.
He also has strong “Plan B” to address concerns over possible injury, instead of a sluggish performance. Hwang, who joined the team as the top draft pick last year, took the mound instead of Kim Min-woo, who was absent from the match against the KT Wiz on Tuesday to lead his team’s seventh consecutive win. Hwang caught KT batters with his fastball with a maximum speed of 149 km/h and average speed of 145 km/h, and a sharp splitter. His sharp control over the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the strike zone also gave a strong impression.
With Hwang at the forefront, the Hanwha Eagles even exploded with its bat. With runners at the first and second bases with two outs in the bottom of the second inning, the Hanwha Eagles scored four runs with four consecutive hits, and Roh Si-hwan’s three-run homerun solidified its win early on. The Hanwha Eagles scored seven runs in the second inning, but added two runs in the third inning with two outs later, Lee Do-yoon’s triple and Moon Hyun-bin’s single. Jonathan Peraza then singled through KT Wes Benjamin’s three-pitch changeup to seal a two-run shot over the right fence. Hwang, who received strong scoring support from the beginning of the game, tied the five innings with three hits (one homer) and two strikeouts and one run, and enjoyed the joy of winning his debut game.
Asked about the secret to winning consecutive games, Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho replied, “This is why starting pitchers are important.” “We can fill the gap (in the starting lineup) by using a lot of bullpen pitchers in the postseason, but we can’t do that in the regular season,” he said. “We can keep a tight schedule until the middle of the game regardless of whether a batter hits well or not. That’s why we can expect a score by blocking the remaining innings with a bullpen.”
BY: 메이저 토토사이트