Finally, a big match between the 1st and 2nd place teams is taking place.

The professional baseball teams LG Twins and Hanwha Eagles will face off on the 14th at the Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park. The game scheduled for the previous day, the 13th, was canceled due to rain. The rain that started in the Daejeon area from the afternoon turned into heavy downpours after 3 p.m. and continued without stopping until night.

The weather forecast on the 13th indicated that it would rain until the afternoon on the 14th, but the weather changed on the morning of the 14th. The rain clouds disappeared. It has been clear since the morning. There is no rain forecast until night. The game on the 14th is set to proceed as scheduled.

Hanwha batters completed special batting training early around 1 p.m. After the special training, pitchers came out to the outfield to warm up and conducted catch ball training. Subsequently, around 1:40 p.m., the fielders conducted infield defensive training and batting practice.

The cancellation of the game on the 13th due to rain has changed the starting matchups for the 14th. Hanwha is expected to start Ponce instead of Hwang Jun-seo. LG's Im Chan-kyu is preparing to start as initially scheduled on the 14th.

Ponce has proven to be the best pitcher of the season so far. He has pitched in 14 games, recording 9 wins and no losses with an earned run average (ERA) of 2.20 and striking out 119 batters. He is leading in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, continuing his push for a triple crown.

However, he has recently shown signs of fatigue. On May 28 against LG, he pitched 7 innings allowing 4 runs, and after a four-day rest, he faced KIA on the 8th, going 5 innings giving up 5 hits (including 2 home runs) and 5 runs.

Im Chan-kyu has recorded 8 wins and 2 losses with an ERA of 2.80 in 13 games this season. He is strong against Hanwha, having won 2 games against them this year with an ERA of 0.56 (1 earned run in 16 innings). He achieved his first complete game shutout on March 26 against Hanwha at Jamsil.

LG is in 1st place with 40 wins, 26 losses, and 1 draw (winning percentage .606), while Hanwha is in 2nd place with 40 wins and 27 losses (winning percentage .597). They have remained within a 0.5 game difference for 1st and 2nd place since the 10th.

Hanwha fell to 2nd place after losing 1-7 to Doosan on May 14, dropping from a tie for 1st place. They now have another chance to reclaim 1st place for the first time in a month. LG has consistently held 1st place since May 13.

Hanwha's cleanup hitter Roh Si-hwan has recently shown improvement in batting performance. In the three-game series against Doosan this week, he had 4 hits in 12 at-bats (batting average .333), hitting 1 home run and 2 doubles while recording 3 RBIs.

LG's Gu Bon-hyeok, who was hit on the hand during the game against SSG on the 12th, is fortunately able to play normally without any bone issues. Catcher Park Dong-won, despite ankle pain, is also preparing to start.

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