Hanwha Eagles failed to win the Winning Series again. They couldn’t turn the game around even though they had a great chance in the bottom of the ninth inning.안전놀이터
Hanwha lost the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League SSG Landers 3-4 at home game held at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 2nd. Hanwha, which lost two consecutive games due to the loss, recorded four consecutive losing series including the Samsung Lions (1-2), KT Wiz (3), and Doosan Bears (1-2).
Hanwha gave up its lead 0-2 after rookie Hwang Joon-seo (eight hits, one walk, two strikeouts and three runs in four ⅔ innings) hit Lee Ji-young with a timely two-run hit in the top of the second inning with one out and runners on second and third bases.
In the bottom of the second inning, Hanwha scored one run on Park Sang-eon’s infield hit with two outs and runners on the second and third bases, but Hwang Young-mook’s poor base running failed to continue the chance. However, Jonathan Peraza hit a two-run homer with two outs and runners on the third base in the bottom of the third inning, successfully reversing the mood by 3-2.
The lead did not last long. In the top of the fifth inning, Hwang Joon-seo faced a crisis with no outs and runners on the first and third bases with two consecutive hits, and Park Sung-han induced him to hit a ground ball to secure two outs, but in the meantime, the third base runner stepped home and tied the game.
In the top of the sixth inning, Hanwha gave up its lead in vain. After Jang Min-jae had consecutive hits by Go Myung-joon and Ha Jae-hoon, Lee Ji-young was on the verge of full base with no outs due to fielder’s choice during a sacrifice bunt. In a showdown with Choo as a pinch hitter, the Hanwha Eagles deployed left-handed pitcher Lee Choong-ho, but allowed a 4-3 come-from-behind victory with a straight walk.
Hanwha, which retired with three outs in three consecutive innings from the 6th to the 8th, finally got a chance in the bottom of the 9th inning. The leadoff hitter Jung Eun-won hit a double against SSG Moon Seung-won, creating a chance to score second base with no outs.
Hwang Young-mook, who hit a timely chase against Moon Seung-won the previous day (1st), entered the batter’s box in a golden chance to tie the game. Hwang Young-mook, who was silent in the previous three at-bats on the 2nd, but had a good batting experience with hits in the last 15 consecutive games, failed to attempt a send-off bunt and ended up with a 2-2 count, which led to a strikeout.
In the subsequent at-bat of Park Sang-eon with one out and a runner on the second base, the Hanwha Eagles took out Chae Eun-seong’s card as a pinch hitter. However, Chae Eun-seong was out after hitting a foul fly ball to the first baseman with only two pitches.
With two outs and a runner on the second base, the Hanwha Eagles put Moon Hyun-bin as a pinch hitter at the batter’s box. Moon pulled the slider at the fourth pitch in the 2-1 advantageous count, but was out due to a grounder to the second base. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Hanwha Eagles failed to tie the game with no outs and a runner on the second base, and lost the game as it was.
Since its successful sweep against KT on March 31, it has not been able to make the Winning Series for more than a month. Hanwha, which had been in first place with 7 wins and 1 loss until March, recorded only 1 win and 1 loss with Lotte Giants and NC Dinos in April, while the rest all recorded a losing series.
Hanwha, ranked eighth in the league, has already been chased by KT (13 wins, 1 draw, 21 losses, 0.382) in the ninth place with a margin of 0.5 games.