The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Professional Baseball league escaped a two-game losing streak through a balanced offense and pitching.
Under the direction of manager Kim Kyung-moon, the NC Dinos achieved a narrow 4-1 victory in their matchup on the 20th at Ulsan Munsoo Stadium. With this result, Hanwha improved from a disappointing record of 1 win and 5 losses last week and a recent two-game losing streak, marking a season record of 29 wins and 18 losses.
On this day, Hanwha's starter Moon Dong-joo displayed nearly perfect pitching, going 6 innings with 4 hits allowed, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, and no runs allowed before leaving the mound. He threw 92 pitches, with a top fastball speed of 157 km/h. He threw 41 fastballs, 24 sliders, 13 forkballs, and 10 curves before handing the baton to the bullpen.
In the 7th inning, Park Sang-won, and in the 8th inning, Han Seung-hyuk, took the mound as part of the winning bullpen. After 2 outs in the 8th, when Han Seung-hyuk struggled with a hit by pitch and walks, as well as 2 wild pitches, closer Kim Seo-hyun came in and struck out Kim Hyeong-jun, managing the crisis. He also struck out all 3 batters he faced in the 9th inning, achieving his 14th save of the season.
The batting lineup did not produce enough runs. However, thanks to Moon Dong-joo's outstanding performance, the amount of scoring was sufficient. In the 2nd inning, Chae Eun-sung hit a solo home run to left field. Although no additional runs were scored afterward, they created opportunities with a walk by No Si-hwan and a double by Chae Eun-sung in the 6th inning, adding runs with Lee Jin-young's timely hit and 2 wild pitches, securing a comfortable lead.
After the game, manager Kim Kyung-moon noted, "Moon Dong-joo handled the innings he was responsible for with excellent pitching as a starting pitcher, leading the game well," and added, "The batting lineup also scored when needed, including Chae Eun-sung's powerful hit, allowing us to secure the victory."
Hanwha announced that Hwang Jun-seo would be the starting pitcher on the 21st, marking his first appearance of the season. NC will have Shin Min-hyeok as the starting pitcher.
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