‘Captain 9 billion’ shouts “It’s not over yet”
Ace Ryu Hyun-jin (37) faltered, but the bats overcame it. It also gave him a well-deserved victory after all his bad luck. Hanwha’s batting lineup made a 180-degree turnaround.
Hanwha secured an 18-7 victory over the visiting KT Wiz in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on May 31.
Riding a five-game winning streak, eighth-place Hanwha improved to 42 wins, 53 losses and two ties, keeping them within six games of the fifth-place Doosan Bears for the final spot in fall baseball. The team will look to ride the momentum and continue to challenge for a postseason berth, which was their goal this season.
Hanwha is eighth in the league with a .269 batting average, but its bats have been on fire of late with a five-game winning streak. In those five games, the team has scored 42 runs and is averaging 8.4 runs per game.
It hasn’t been a dominant performance by the starters either. With three games rained out, the team has only utilized its trio of aces, with Ryu Hyun-jin pitching well in the first game with seven innings of two-run ball, but struggling today with six runs (five earned) in five innings, Jaime Barria giving up three runs in four innings and four runs in five and a half innings, and Ryan Weiss giving up three runs in one inning.
In the second half, Hanwha faltered as its starters fell apart. The starting team ERA was 4.72, which ranked ninth. The bullpen was second with a 3.51 ERA, but with an up-and-down starting lineup and batting lineup, it was hard to expect good results.
However, the batting lineup’s rebound changed the game. Ahn Chi-hong and Noh Si-hwan bounced back with solid performances, while Ha Joo-seok and Kim Tae-yeon led the batting lineup.
It was a highlight of Hanhwa’s recent cohesion. Before the series, Kim smiled that the batting lineup was slowly coming alive, and the day before, the team’s cohesive batting helped them secure a valuable victory over KT, the No. 1 team in the second 파워볼실시간 half of the standings. “It’s not easy to get runners on base by just hitting hard when the weather gets hot,” Kim said before the game, “so we had to bunt and bunt well from the beginning and score runs as early as possible. If you don’t score when you get a chance, the momentum goes to the other team, so we’re trying to make the most of it,” he said.
“Every win is the same, but from a manager’s point of view, when you get a win like yesterday, when the players give you a fight, when you get a lot of team batting, and when you get a win like this, I’m very grateful,” he said.
It was a big day for the manager as well as the ace. Ryu has five attempts at six wins this season, but only two losses. He pitched more than five innings in each game, including two seven-inning games, but couldn’t get the win.
When the ace faltered, they stepped up. They scored 18 runs on 22 hits and provided enough firepower to help Ryu get through the fifth inning and secure the win.
“Hyun-jin has been pitching well but hasn’t had much luck, but today we were fortunate to record our first win in a long time with the active support of our bats,” said manager Kim Kyung-moon after the game.
He also praised the batting lineup. “In a tight one-run situation, Chae Eun-sung’s three-run home run was able to bring the tide in our favor,” Kim said. “We were able to win our fifth straight game thanks to the players who did their best to win despite the heat. All of our players did a great job,” he said.
The fact that Hanwha secured a winning series against KT, the top team in the second half of the season, is a testament to its formidable momentum. Starting with the first game against the Lotte Giants on March 18, KT has won nine of the last 11 series without dropping a single game.
“The team’s batting has been good lately, and I’m happy that the team won today,” said captain Chae Eun-sung, who also received praise from the manager. “It was a crucial time for us, and I felt sorry for the team because we didn’t hit well. The season is not over yet, so I will do my best from now on to play a role in the team’s victory,” she said, expressing her desire for fall baseball.