The Hanwha Eagles are challenging for an 11-game winning streak for the first time in 33 years.

On the 9th, Hanwha registered a dramatic 7-5 comeback victory against the Kiwoom Heroes in the 2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, extending their winning streak to 10 games.

Despite the struggles of starting pitcher Eom Sang-baek, who pitched 3 and 2/3 innings, allowing 5 hits (4 home runs), 1 walk, 1 hit batter, 2 strikeouts, and 4 runs, Hanwha benefitted from Moon Hyun-bin's impressive performance, who went 2 for 5 with 1 home run and 3 RBIs, achieving a dramatic comeback win. Moon hit a go-ahead home run with 2 outs in the top of the 9th inning.

Thanks to Moon Hyun-bin's performance, Hanwha overcame an early deficit to secure their 10th consecutive win. It has been 26 years since Hanwha last recorded a 10-game winning streak, which occurred between September 24 and October 5, 1999, when they won the Korean Series.

Hanwha has achieved a 10-game winning streak only twice before, in 1992 and 1999, and in both years, they advanced to the Korean Series, claiming their only title in 1999.

As the third team in the club's history to reach a 10-game winning streak, Hanwha's goals are understandably high. Currently, they are leading the league with a record of 25 wins and 13 losses, a winning percentage of .658, generating increasing expectations among fans. With this victory, the gap between them and second-place LG (23 wins, 14 losses, .622) widened to 1.5 games.

Now Hanwha is challenging for an 11-game winning streak. The last time Hanwha achieved 11 consecutive wins was in 1992 during the Binggrae era. They recorded 14 consecutive wins from the Samsung game on May 12 to the Lotte game on the 26th. The 14 consecutive wins achieved at that time remain Hanwha's all-time record. In 1992, Binggrae achieved a record of 81 wins, 1 tie, and 43 losses, with a winning percentage of .651, setting a new record for most victories in KBO League history at that time. Currently, Hanwha has a higher winning percentage than Binggrae did in 1992.

Moon Hyun-bin, who led the 10-game winning streak, said in a post-game interview, “It’s more about creating a positive atmosphere rather than feeling the pressure of the winning streak. Even if we give up runs, the seniors provide us with the courage to keep going and uplift the atmosphere. Thanks to that, we were able to achieve 10 straight wins. It’s true that the winning streak is in our thoughts, but I try not to focus on it too much.” He added, “Even when we’re losing, it feels like we’re not really losing. This year, we will definitely reach the postseason.”

Challenging for an 11-game winning streak, Hanwha announced Kodi Ponsse as the starting pitcher for the game against Kiwoom on the 10th. Ponsse has a record of 6 wins and an earned run average of 1.70 over 8 games (53 innings) this season. In his last outing, he achieved a non-earned win against KIA, allowing 2 hits and 6 strikeouts over 7 innings while allowing 1 run. This will be his first appearance against Kiwoom this season.

Kiwoom will start Kim Sun-ki. Kim Sun-ki has a record of 3 losses and an earned run average of 6.65 over 13 games (23 innings) this season. In his last outing, he pitched 3 and 2/3 innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 walks, 1 hit batter, 2 strikeouts, and 1 run. He has a solid ERA of 3.86 in 2 games (2 and 1/3 innings) against Hanwha.

Hanwha, which has been having its best season since winning the Korean Series in 1999, is garnering much attention as the hottest team in the league. After failing to make the postseason in the last 6 years since reaching the playoffs in 2018, fans are hoping this year will see their desire for postseason baseball fulfilled.

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