The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Professional Baseball League recorded seven consecutive starting wins for the first time in 24 years, achieving a winning streak of seven games. They recently won 10 games out of their last 11, making a significant leap from 10th place to 2nd place.

Led by Manager Kim Kyung-moon, Hanwha won their home game against the NC Dinos in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 20th by a score of 7-1. They extended their winning streak from the game against Kiwoom in Daejeon on the 13th to '7'. This week, they swept the SSG game in Munhak and the NC game in Daejeon, achieving three consecutive wins in both. Expanding the scope to the last 11 games, they have 10 wins and 1 loss. After being in 10th place until the 9th, they rose vertically to 2nd place in just ten days.

It is encouraging that all 10 wins in the last 11 games were starting wins. On this day, starting pitcher KODI Ponce threw a fastball at a maximum speed of 157 km/h, dominating the NC lineup with 13 strikeouts, allowing just 1 hit over 7 innings without any walks, achieving his 4th win of the season. Following his performance against SSG in Munhak on the 15th, where he pitched 7 innings, allowing 1 hit, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts, and no runs, he has pitched two scoreless games over 7 innings with double-digit strikeouts this week.

As a result, starting from Moon Dong-joo in the game against Kiwoom on the 13th, followed by KODI Ponce, Ryan Weathers, Ryu Hyun-jin from the 15th to the 17th against SSG, Um Sang-baek, Moon Dong-joo, and Ponce on the 18th and 19th against NC, Hanwha has achieved 7 consecutive starting wins. This ties for the most in the club's history, marking the fourth time.

During the Binggrae era, from May 25, 1988, against Lotte in Masan to June 5, 1988, against the Pacific in Incheon, Han Hee-min, Kim Yong-nam, Kim Hong-myung, Lee Dong-seock collaborated for the first time on 7 consecutive starting wins. In 1988, Binggrae reached its first Korean Series after being founded.

Then, from September 24, 1999, against Hyundai in Incheon to October 5, 1999, against Samsung in Daejeon, Jung Min-cheol, Lee Sang-mok, Jung Min-cheol, Lee Sang-mok, Jung Min-cheol, Koo Dae-sung, and Lee Sang-mok recorded 7 consecutive starting wins. The year 1999 was the year Hanwha won its first and only remaining Korean Series championship.

The most recent occasion was from April 7, 2001, against SK in Daejeon to April 14, 2001, against Haitai in Cheongju, where Jo Gyu-soo, Han Yong-deok, Lee Sang-mok, Jo Gyu-soo, Song Jin-woo, Han Yong-deok, and Park Jeong-jin achieved 7 consecutive starting wins. In 2001, Hanwha also advanced to the postseason in 4th place.

The KBO league record for most consecutive starting wins is held by Samsung, who achieved 12 consecutive starting wins from May 27, 1986, against OB in Daegu to June 8, 1986, during the first game of a doubleheader against Lotte in Daegu. Kwon Young-ho, Seong-jun, Kim Si-jin, Jin Dong-han, and others collaborated for 12 consecutive starting wins. After that, Samsung went on a 16-game winning streak until June 14, during a game against MBC in Jamsil. The 16-game winning streak is the 2nd longest in KBO history, with SK holding the record for the longest at 22 consecutive wins, spanning from August 25, 2009, against Doosan in Munhak to March 10, 2010, against LG in Jamsil, including one tie.

The second-longest consecutive starting win record is held by Hyundai with 11 consecutive wins, set from August 28, 1998, against Samsung in Daegu to September 7, 1998, against SSANGBANGWOOL in Gunsan. At that time, Kim Soo-kyung, Jung Myung-won, Choi Won-ho, Jung Min-tae, Wi Jae-young, and others collaborated for 11 consecutive starting wins.

The joint third-place record is Hyundai's 9 consecutive wins in 2000 and 2006. The 7 consecutive starting wins achieved by Hanwha on this day marks the 18th instance. Excluding Samsung, which achieved two 7 consecutive starting wins in 1985 while winning the integrated championship, among the 19 teams that had 7 or more consecutive starting wins until last year, 18 teams reached the postseason except Hyundai in 1999. This statistic shows that teams with solid starting pitching can guarantee a place in the fall.

With strong starting pitching, Hanwha's lineup also demonstrated its focus on this day. In the 2nd inning, No Si-hwan hit his 8th home run of the season and the 100th of his career as a decisive first score. Moon Hyun-bin followed with 2-run singles in both the 5th and 7th innings during two bases-loaded opportunities, contributing 2 hits and 4 RBIs to celebrate his birthday. Estevan Florial also continued his 12-game hitting streak with 2 hits and 1 walk in 4 at-bats, while Choi Jae-hoon and Ha Joo-seok each contributed with 2 hits and 1 RBI in 2 at-bats and 3 hits in 4 at-bats, respectively, bolstering the 8th and 9th batting order.

After the game, Hanwha Manager Kim Kyung-moon noted, "Ponce pitched a perfect game as a starter, allowing just 1 hit over 7 innings with 13 strikeouts and no runs, making the fielders more focused and able to perform better."

Manager Kim continued, "We achieved more wins than expected this week, and we will continue this good momentum to bring joy to the fans," expressing gratitude to the 17,000 fans who filled the stands at their Daejeon home stadium for the 8th home game of the season.

Hanwha is scheduled to play against Lotte at Sajik next week and KT in Daejeon over the weekend. They will enter a fierce ranking battle with teams in 3rd and 4th place, mere half a game behind.

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