After winning first place for the first time in 18 years based on the standard of over 30 games since the opening, the professional baseball team Hanwha Eagles is already entering management mode. They are focusing on management to ensure that the bullpen, which is maintaining a close contest of 1 to 2 points, does not experience overload.

On the 5th, Hanwha called up Park Sang-won as the second pitcher after starter Ryan Weiss in the 8th inning, where they were leading 2-1 against Samsung in Daejeon. Normally, it would have been Han Seung-hyuk's turn in the 8th. Since the 6th of last month against Samsung in Daegu, Han Seung-hyuk has thrown 13⅓ scoreless innings in the last 15 games, accumulating 7 holds, rising as the crucial setup man before closer Kim Seo-hyun in the 9th inning.

However, on that day, he was not on standby in the bullpen. Before the game on the 6th, Hanwha manager Kim Kyeong-moon explained the reason for not using Han Seung-hyuk in the 8th, stating, "He had pitched fewer balls recently but appeared in many games. Yesterday (the 5th), I decided not to use him and prepared Park Sang-won for the 8th inning, as he has pitched much less than Han Seung-hyuk."

Han Seung-hyuk appeared in all 7 games that Hanwha played from the 25th against KT in Daejeon to the 4th against KIA in Gwangju over a span of 10 days. During this period, he rested a total of 3 days due to a Monday off day and two rain cancellations. There was one instance of three consecutive appearances against KT from the 25th to the 27th, but afterwards, he had one day off followed by two consecutive appearances and then another day off.

Even during the three consecutive appearances, his pitch counts were not excessive, with each being 25, 7, and 11 pitches. Although there was not much strain due to adequate rest, it is still early in the season, and manager Kim Kyeong-moon, who is looking at the long term of the season, has begun management early.

On the 6th against Samsung, closer Kim Seo-hyun will also be resting. Kim Seo-hyun threw 17 pitches and 16 pitches respectively in the 1 inning each against KIA in Gwangju on the 4th and against Samsung in Daejeon on the 5th. Manager Kim noted, "Today, Seo-hyun will rest. I think Jeong Woo-joo will probably come in his place," indicating that he would give an opportunity to rookie Jeong Woo-joo if a save situation arises.

Starting with 4 wins and 10 losses in the first 14 games, Hanwha has recently won a remarkable 18 games out of the last 21, rising from 10th place to joint 1st place. It marks the first time in 18 years that Hanwha has reached first place after 30 games since the opening since June 2, 2007.

Manager Kim stated, "I think that the tough start actually helped both the players and me. What we are doing well now, we should keep doing well, and then it’s important to ensure that the players do not get injured as much as possible. That’s something I need to pay attention to. The season is still long. I plan to approach each game individually without worrying too much about the rankings," predicting that he would manage the players' stamina without overexertion.

Meanwhile, on that day, Hanwha excluded infielder Ahn Chi-hong from the first-team roster and called up rookie infielder Lee Seung-hyun. Ahn Chi-hong, who has been experiencing severe batting struggles with a batting average of .098 (5 hits in 51 at-bats) over 16 games this season, is having issues with his right wrist. Manager Kim revealed, "Chi-hong thinks about the team and says he is fine, but the wrist is still not fully healed. I told him to focus on his treatment first since the team is doing well right now."

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