I’m Kim Hyun-soo with ‘News Plus’.
The Hanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization are on a roll.
Hanwha had won eight games in a row for the first time in 18 years.바카라사이트
It looked like their momentum might be slowing down as they dropped one game each to the Lotte Giants and SSG Landers.
But a two-game sweep of second-place SSG on the 9th, followed by a sweep of the leaders LG Twins yesterday, has rekindled a flame that has yet to be extinguished.
“Two moons in the bedroom,” as they say, referring to Moon Dong-joo and Moon Hyun-bin, two players who stood out in yesterday’s game.
The score was 2-1, and Hanwha scored two runs in the top of the first inning.
With runners on first and second and two outs, Hyun-bin Moon, batting fifth, hit the ninth pitch from LG’s Kelly down the right field line.
It turned out to be a two-run double, bringing both runners home.
For the next seven innings, LG’s bats were held in check by Hanwha starter Moon Dong-ju’s perfect game.
Moon Dong-joo, you were consistently throwing fastballs over 150 kilometres per hour.
The defence was also outstanding.
In seven and a third innings, he gave up one run on five hits, struck out five, and threw a whopping 108 pitches, setting a new personal record for most pitches thrown.
Moon was highly anticipated by fans as a rookie for Hanwha last year, but injuries kept him off the mound.
As a result, he revealed that he carries his own pillow and tries to sleep a lot, more than 10 hours a night.
This year, he seems to be paying more attention to his physical condition.
[Moon Dong-joo/Hanwha Eagles pitcher/Yesterday: “I think I still came down with my ability, and I think I can give (myself) a high score by finishing (the first half) without getting hurt, and the second half is the same, finishing without getting hurt, and I think that’s my biggest, only goal, to finish the whole season without getting hurt.”]
Hanwha head coach Choi Won-ho said, “If the match schedule goes on normally, the last week of August will be Moon Dong-ju’s last appearance.”
It seems that the decision was made in consideration of Moon’s physical condition.
Let’s see if Hanwha’s rookie of the year, Kim Seo-hyun, can fill the void left by Moon Dong-ju.
Also, Hanwha’s new foreign player, Williams, hasn’t performed as well as expected yet.
Considering it’s an adjustment period, if he does his job well, it will be a catalyst for Hanwha to move on to autumn baseball.
Currently, the KBO has a tight mid-table battle.
In eighth place, Hanwha is just three games behind NC and Lotte, who are tied for fourth.
The clouds that hung over Hanwha’s autumn baseball at the beginning of the season are starting to lift.
[Choi Dong-ho/sports commentator: “(Hanwha) can definitely compete for a spot in the postseason, but in the middle of summer, when the heat is at its peak, the performance in July and August will determine whether Hanwha makes it to the postseason.”]
Recently, KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-cheol also called Hanwha a “mid-table dark horse,” saying, “The Hanwha Eagles have Sanchez, Peña, and Moon Dong-joo, so they’re not an easy team to beat.
Hanwha fans also expressed their excitement, saying, “We are the only fans of the club who are happy as if we have everything in the world even though we are in 8th place,” and “Regardless of the ranking, this year is good, and I can see that the bad plays of last year and the year before have definitely decreased, so I am really satisfied with that, and I look forward to the second half of the season.”
The Hanwha Eagles are leaping to greater heights, but how far will they go?
So far, it’s been ‘more news’.