The Hanwha Eagles defeated the Doosan Bears, maintaining a gap of 0.5 games behind the first-place LG Twins.

Under the leadership of Kim Kyung-moon, Hanwha decorated their home game against Doosan Bears in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park on the 11th with a 9-1 victory.

With a record of 39 wins and 27 losses (winning percentage .591), Hanwha, in second place, continued to compete for the top spot, maintaining a 0.5 game difference with first-place LG (39 wins, 26 losses, 1 draw, winning percentage .600), who won 6-4 against SSG on that day.

It was a meaningful victory in many ways. Cho Dong-uk, who filled in for Ryu Hyun-jin, who was sidelined due to internal muscle pain, earned the win. He subdued the Doosan lineup for five innings, allowing four hits (one home run), two walks, two strikeouts, and one earned run. This victory came 395 days after his starting win against Kiwoom on May 12 last year, which was his debut game.

He planned to throw up to 90 pitches but completed his five-inning task with just 65 pitches. He focused on throwing fastballs at a top speed of 145 km/h and an average of 143 km/h (30 pitches), along with change-ups (19 pitches), sliders (15 pitches), and curves (1 pitch). He aggressively challenged left-handed batters, increased the frequency of his change-ups compared to usual, and induced swings and misses. With an aggressive approach, he executed an efficient five-inning performance with just 65 pitches.

With Cho Dong-uk's strong performance, Hanwha's batting lineup exploded for 9 runs on 15 hits. Lee Won-seok, who seized the opportunity to start in center field in place of Estevan Florial, who missed two consecutive games due to a hand injury from a hit by pitch, excelled with multiple hits for the second consecutive game.

Notably, he hit a grand slam during a bases-loaded opportunity with one out in the second inning. He pulled a slider thrown low inside at 137 km/h on the second pitch from Doosan's starting pitcher Choi Won-jun, effortlessly sending it over the left field fence. The home run traveled a distance of 120 meters, marking his second home run of the season. It was his first career grand slam and also recorded the first grand slam in the new Daejeon stadium, making it even more significant.

Lee Won-seok has primarily served as a pinch runner this season and is a regular in the first team. Despite his hitting difficulties, Kim Kyung-moon has consistently trusted Lee Won-seok in crucial moments as a pinch runner. This year, he has successfully stolen 11 bases with only two failures, boasting a stolen base success rate of 84.6% and contributing 26 runs. He has become a key player in Hanwha's aggressive base running, constantly looking to advance whenever the opposing team shows vulnerability.

Kim Kyung-moon has often motivated Lee Won-seok by giving him starting opportunities, and he did not miss the chance to start as the center fielder in the Doosan series on the 10th and 11th due to Florial’s injury. In the game on the 10th, he got the first hit that broke the no-hitter by Colmub and made a foundation for the victory, registering two hits.

After the game, Kim Kyung-moon noted, “Starting pitcher Cho Dong-uk did his part with one earned run over five innings, and the hitters contributed with active offense to support the pitchers.” He added, “Lee Won-seok hit a grand slam in the second inning with a bases-loaded opportunity, taking the lead, and we were able to build momentum and secure victory with additional runs in the later innings.”

이날 경기 후 김경문 감독은 “선발투수 조동욱이 5이닝 1실점으로 제 역할을 다해줬고, 타자들도 활발한 공격력으로 득점을 쌓아가며 투수들을 지원했다”며 “2회말 만루 찬스에서 이원석이 만루 홈런을 쏘아 올리면서 리드를 가져왔고, 경기 중후반에 추가 득점을 거두며 분위기를 가져와 승기를 잡을 수 있었다”고 승리 소감을 전했다.

On the 12th, Hanwha plans to start sidearm pitcher Eom Sang-baek against Doosan for a sweep. Doosan will start left-handed pitcher Jack Logan.

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