Hanwha Eagles team captain Chae Eun-sung (35) raised his voice, stating that they must not be complacent as they challenge for their 12th consecutive victory.

Hanwha achieved 11 consecutive victories by winning 9-1 against the Kiwoom Heroes on Oct. 10 at Seoul's Gocheok Sky Dome in the 2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League. This is a remarkable record that has come 12,040 days after achieving 11 consecutive victories during the Binggrae era in the first game of the doubleheader against SSANGBANGWOOL on May 23, 1992.

Having achieved 11 consecutive victories for the first time in 33 years, Hanwha now aims for 12 straight wins and to challenge the club's all-time record of 14 consecutive victories. Hanwha's all-time record was set by Binggrae, who achieved 14 consecutive wins from May 12 to May 26, 1992, against Samsung and Lotte.

The most significant challenge for Hanwha during their 11-game winning streak came in the game against Kiwoom on Oct. 9. This is because Kiwoom had their second starter, Ha Young-min, on the mound while Hanwha had their fifth starter, Eom Sang-baek. In reality, Ha Young-min pitched six innings, allowing five hits (one home run), one walk, one hit batter, and striking out eight while allowing two runs, while Eom Sang-baek struggled with three and two-thirds innings, allowing five hits (four home runs), one walk, one hit batter, two strikeouts, and allowing four runs, leading to defeat for Hanwha. However, the batting lineup demonstrated focus, turning the game around, and the bullpen prevented any runs in the remaining innings, managing to win with a comeback.

By securing the crucial victory, Hanwha has positioned itself favorably for the matchups against the remaining two games. Hanwha will have their first starter, Kodi Ponce, and second starter, Ryan Weiss, on the mound, whereas Kiwoom will have their third starter, Kim Sun-ki, and fourth starter, Kim Yoon-ha. In the game on Oct. 10, Ponce demonstrated his ace quality with a victory, pitching six innings, allowing three hits (one home run), two walks, nine strikeouts, and allowing one run, while Kiwoom's Kim Sun-ki recorded three innings, allowing five hits, one walk, one hit batter, and two strikeouts, resulting in a loss.

In the final game of the three-game series, the matchup between Weiss and Kim Yoon-ha shows Hanwha with a large advantage. Weiss has recorded five wins and one loss in eight games this season (48 and one-third innings) with an earned run average of 3.91. In his last appearance, he won by allowing three hits (one home run), one walk, five strikeouts, and allowing one run over seven innings against Samsung. This will be his first appearance of the season against Kiwoom.

Kim Yoon-ha has recorded seven losses and an earned run average of 7.12 in eight games this season (36 and two-thirds innings). In his last outing, he suffered a defeat against KIA, allowing six hits, four walks, four strikeouts, and six runs over three innings. He has pitched once against Hanwha, allowing five innings, eight hits, one walk, two strikeouts, and allowing five runs (four earned), leading to another loss. He has become the losing pitcher in seven out of eight games this season and has yet to achieve his first victory.

While Hanwha shows complete dominance in the starting pitcher matchups, Chae Eun-sung emphasized during an interview after the victory on Oct. 10 that, "Many people might have thought we would have the advantage in today's game. However, baseball is unpredictable," stressing that they must not become complacent even in favorable situations.

"We watched the game between Kiwoom and KIA last Wednesday, and there is no guarantee that such a thing won’t happen again," said Chae Eun-sung. "We aim to give our best regardless of the opponent."

The game Chae Eun-sung referenced was the match between Kiwoom and KIA on Oct. 7. Kiwoom achieved a comeback victory 11-10, breaking their four-game losing streak. They found themselves down by as much as seven runs, trailing 10-3 until the eighth inning, but ignited by Lim Byeong-wook's timely hit, Kim Tae-jin's grand slam, and Choi Joo-hwan's three-run double, they scored eight runs to overturn the game. At the beginning of the eighth inning, Kiwoom's chance of victory was a mere 0.2%, yet they managed to defy the odds and clinch the win. Chae Eun-sung reminded everyone that anything can happen in baseball.

Hanwha is experiencing a hotter season than ever. While Kiwoom remains at the bottom of the league, they are determined not to let Hanwha sweep the three-game series over the weekend. Fans are eager to see what the outcome of the matchup between the two teams will be at Gocheok Dome.

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