The recent momentum of the “Eagle Corps” Hanwha Eagles is scary. Will they be able to continue their rise this week and continue their dream of becoming an autumn baseball player.
As of Tuesday, Hanwha has recorded 56 wins, two draws and 60 losses. The team ranks seventh with no gap with sixth-ranked SSG Landers (58 wins, one draw and 62 losses), but is only one game behind fifth-ranked KT Wiz (59 wins, two draws and 61 losses), which is the last line to advance to the autumn baseball league.
The recent upturn has been remarkable. Hanwha had 38 wins, two draws and 53 losses through May 22. Back then, the gap with the fifth-ranked NC Dinos (45 wins, two draws and 44 losses) was a whopping eight games. Realistically, the team could hardly afford to advance to the postseason.
Fortunately, Hanwha began to rebound afterwards. It recorded 18 wins and seven losses from July 23 to 25 and ranked first in winning percentage (0.720) during this period, emerging as an eye of mid-range competition typhoon. Its recent 10 games have posted a whopping eight wins and two losses.
Notably, the three consecutive weekend games against the Doosan Bears, which took place at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul from June 23 to 25, showed the true face of the Hanwha Eagles. They were not swayed at the end of the game, and as a result, they swept all three consecutive games. It was the first time in 7020 days that the Hanwha Eagles swept all three consecutive games against the Doosan Bears since the Cheongju Series on June 4-6, 2005.
The stability of the mound was the main background of Hanwha’s propaganda. First, Ryu Hyun-jin and Ryan Weiss took the center stage of the starting lineup. Moon Dong-ju and Jaime Barria were also responsible for five innings, and the bullpen was also solid. With the finishing main phenomenon alive, Park Sang-won overcame the slump at the beginning of the season and played a must-win role. Recently, Lee Sang-kyu also showed his presence.
As the pitchers held out, the batters also gained strength. There are some ups and downs, but he does not lose his concentration in the chance situation and is making RBIs. Both the texture and the afterthought have improved.
Players are now confident. “Coach Kim Kyung-moon told me that the remaining games in August will be very important in Incheon (where the three consecutive weekend games against SSG were held from August 16 to 19). Incheon also had a good result (series sweep),” Jang said with a smile.
Now, aiming for more than just fall baseball, the Hanwha Eagles will hold three consecutive games during the week (from July 27 to 29) against the Lotte Giants this week, before taking a day off and having a showdown with the KT Wiz at its home turf on Saturday. These are all important games. Hanwha has eight more games to play against the Lotte Giants, including the three games of this season. The result of their showdowns may determine the team’s ticket to fall baseball. KT is also a direct opponent against Hanwha for its ranking. 먹튀검증
In particular, Hanwha has shown stellar performance with Lotte this season with four wins and four losses. Lotte, which is ranked eighth with 51 wins, three draws and 61 losses, only won one win and four losses last week, but it is by no means an easy match. Lotte’s batting average for August was 0.305, the only team among the 10 teams to exceed 30 percent. Above all, Lotte also has a strong desire for fall baseball.