Professional baseball team Hanwha Eagles has surged to a nine-game winning streak for the first time in 20 years, climbing from a tie for first place to sole possession of first place. They have accumulated 20 wins in their last 23 games, maintaining an unrealistic upward trend.
Under the leadership of manager Kim Kyung-moon, Hanwha won their home game against the Samsung Lions in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League by a score of 10-6 at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 7th. This was a pleasant victory in front of a crowded home audience of 17,000, marking their 16th win of the season and their 12th consecutive home game in Daejeon.
With this win, Hanwha, which has achieved a nine-game winning streak since their game against KT in Daejeon on the 26th of last month, has successfully reached a nine-game winning streak for the first time in 20 years. This is the first such streak since June 4, 2005, against Doosan in Cheongju, which occurred 7,267 days ago.
Hanwha, which also swept the three-game series against Samsung on Children's Day, achieved a three-game sweep against Samsung for the first time in nine years. This was the first three-game sweep since June 3-5, 2016, against Samsung in Daegu, occurring 3,258 days ago.
With the nine-game winning streak, Hanwha's season record improved to 24 wins and 13 losses (winning percentage .649), sending them to sole first place. Before this game, LG, who was tied for first place, suffered a loss to Doosan in Jamsil, ending up with 23 wins and 14 losses (winning percentage .622), putting Hanwha one game ahead and securing sole first place. LG, which has never left first place since the start of the season, has now fallen to second.
On this day, Hanwha's starting pitcher performed excellently. Moon Dong-joo pitched six innings, allowing six hits, three walks, one hit batter, striking out eight while allowing two runs, achieving a quality start and recording his fourth win of the season (1 loss), maintaining an earned run average of 3.03. He pitched a personal-high of 105 pitches, reaching a maximum speed of 156 km/h with an average of 151 km/h fastballs (57 pitches), along with using a forkball (27 pitches), slider (13 pitches), curveball (7 pitches), and two-seam fastball (1 pitch) evenly.
For Moon Dong-joo, this was his first appearance in 11 days since the game against KT in Daejeon on the 26th of last month. He was scheduled to start against KIA in Gwangju on the 3rd, but the game was canceled due to rain, which may have affected his rotation, causing some early control issues in the first one to two innings where he threw 52 pitches. Although it seemed difficult for him to pitch long innings, he showed his endurance as a starting pitcher by throwing 105 pitches until the sixth inning.
After the game, manager Kim Kyung-moon was the first to mention Moon Dong-joo. The manager praised him, saying, "It was his first appearance since the 26th of last month, and although he struggled early on, he settled down and performed well over six innings, allowing only two runs," and added, "There was a crisis in the top of the 7th, but the bullpen did well to hold it together. In the subsequent 7th inning offense, we were able to seize the momentum and score a lot of runs."
In the top of the 7th, leading 4-2, Jo Dong-wook walked, and then Kim Jong-soo made a hit, creating a one-out, runners on first and second situation, but left-hander Kim Bum-soo managed to resolve the situation. After catching Lewin Diaz's fly ball to center field, he struck out pinch hitter Park Byung-ho swinging to roar in celebration.
In the subsequent offensive in the bottom of the 7th, Hanwha created a big inning. A timely hit by Choi Jae-hoon, a three-run double by Sim Woo-jun, and a two-run home run by Lee Won-seok resulted in six runs, bringing their score to double digits. Moon Hyun-bin led the team with three hits in five at-bats, including his sixth solo home run to tie the game in the 3rd inning. Chae Eun-sung, Hwang Young-mook, and Choi Jae-hoon each contributed with two hits in a multi-hit performance.
On the 5th, as Children's Day fell on a Monday, during the nine consecutive games, Hanwha managed to have suitable rest due to two rainout cancellations while achieving seven wins. With an unrealistic winning pace of 20 wins in their last 23 games, they have finally reached sole first place. Their pitching and defense are performing exceptionally well, which suggests that this is unlikely to end as a temporary surge.
On the 8th, Hanwha will enjoy a sweet respite and will face Kiwoom for a weekend three-game series at Gocheok Sky Dome on the 9th-11th. With a record of 13 wins and 27 losses (winning percentage .325), Kiwoom is trailing by five games behind Doosan in 9th place. This presents an opportunity for Hanwha to add wins from their first place position, but they must be cautious, as underestimating their opponent could lead to a significant setback. On the 7th, Kiwoom staged a comeback victory, scoring eight runs in the 8th inning alone against KIA, overcoming a 3-10 deficit to win 11-10. They should never be taken lightly.
Last year, Hanwha also topped the standings with an impressive 8 wins and 2 losses in the first 10 games. However, on April 5, in a game against Kiwoom in Gocheok, starter Ryu Hyun-jin collapsed, allowing nine runs in 4⅓ innings, leading to a demise of the mound, where they conceded ten runs in the fifth inning alone, suffering an 11-7 loss. Following that, they fell into a slump with 3 wins and 15 losses over 18 games, including a five-game losing streak. Although they have played more games than last year and their stability is incomparable, they must remain cautious. Given their painful memories from last year, they must not become complacent while holding onto first place.
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