The professional baseball LG Twins have narrowed the gap with the second-place challengers to just two games.

LG lost 2-3 to the Hanwha Eagles at Hanwha Life Park in Daejeon on the 29th. The team's batting lineup showed a lack of concentration amid a downward trend. After suffering its first three-game losing streak of the season, LG will face the typical 'LG killer' pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin on the 30th.

On the 29th, LG's leadoff hitter Hong Chang-ki unexpectedly reached base with a hit from his first at-bat in the first inning. However, Kim Hyun-soo was out on a fly ball to left field after hitting the first pitch, and Austin struck out. Moon Bo-kyung was out on a ground ball to second base.

Starting pitcher Song Seung-ki allowed the first run on a sacrifice fly from Lee Jae-won with one out and runners on first and third in the second inning.

In the third inning, LG's Hong Chang-ki reached base on a hit by pitch with one out, and Kim Hyun-soo's ground ball to second base led to the preceding runner being out. Austin hit a two-run home run that sailed over the left-center field wall on a first pitch fastball (151 km).

In the fourth inning, with one out, Park Hae-min drew a walk, and Shin Min-jae reached base on a hit by pitch, creating a scoring opportunity with runners on first and second. The LG bench sent Park Dong-won in as a pinch hitter for Lee Ju-hun. They replaced backup catcher Lee Ju-hun, who formed a battery with starting pitcher Song Seung-ki, putting in the regular Park Dong-won as a pinch hitting option.

However, Park Dong-won's hit was a line drive out to second base, and Hong Chang-ki was also out on a ground ball to shortstop, missing a chance to extend the lead.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Song Seung-ki allowed a solo home run to Lee Jin-young and another solo home run to Shim Woo-jun with two outs. Coincidentally, he gave up two home runs after the catcher changed. He was hit by a fastball on a 2-ball count and again on a 2-ball, 1-strike count.

In the fifth inning, LG went down in order, and in the sixth inning, after two outs, Park Hae-min reached base with a hit to right-center and successfully stole second base, but Shin Min-jae was out on a ground ball to first base. In the seventh inning, against Hanwha's bullpen pitcher Park Sang-won, LG went down in order, and in the eighth inning, against Han Seung-hyuk, after two outs, Oh Ji-hwan reached base with a double, but Moon Sung-joo was out on a ground ball to shortstop.

In the ninth inning, against Hanwha closer Kim Seo-hyun, after one out, pinch hitter Song Chan-ui reached base with a hit to center field. The game ended with Park Dong-won's ground ball double play to shortstop. LG's batting lineup failed to get a hit in four opportunities with runners in scoring position. They scored two runs on Austin's two-run home run.

In a one-run match, after starter Song Seung-ki (5 innings, 3 earned runs), the reliable bullpen of Park Myung-geun (1 inning, no earned runs), Kim Jin-sung (1 inning, no earned runs), and Kim Gang-ryul (1 inning, no earned runs) was rolled out, but the batting lineup could not turn things around. They exhausted their reliable bullpen from the first day of the nine-game stretch, but the result was a loss.

Since sending out a substitute starter due to Hernandez's injury vacancy, the team has recorded 2 wins and 6 losses since the game against SSG on the 20th. They suffered their first two-game losing streak, followed by their first three-game losing streak. The entire lineup is in a slump, making future games risky.

Moreover, LG lost to Hanwha, while second-place Samsung won against SSG. Fourth-place Lotte also defeated the last-place Kiwoom. LG is now two games behind second-place Samsung, 2.5 games behind third-place Hanwha, and three games ahead of fourth-place Lotte. The gap that was once six games quickly vanished.

LG will challenge to escape its three-game losing streak on the 30th with starting pitcher Chirinos. Hanwha's starter will be Ryu Hyun-jin, who recorded six innings with no earned runs against LG at Jamsil on March 25. Ryu's career record against LG includes 39 appearances, 23 wins, 9 losses, and an earned run average of 2.28.

Last year, upon returning to the KBO League, he pitched well with a record of 1 win and 1 loss in 3 games and an earned run average of 1.84. In last year's opening game, he became the losing pitcher with 5 earned runs (2 unearned) in 3.2 innings due to defensive errors, but he was untouchable in the second half with 5 innings of no earned runs and 1 earned run in 6 innings.

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