RYU has two chances to leapfrog mid-table
Can the Hanwha Eagles make another leap forward?
Hanwha will play a three-game series against the Lotte Giants at Sajik Stadium in Busan on July 7th.
This season, Hanwha is in ninth place with 14 wins and 21 losses.
They are two games behind last-place Lotte (11 wins, 1 draw, and 22 losses). Depending on the outcome of the three-game series, they could either fall to the bottom or stay there.
Hanwha got off to a great start, dropping their opening game, but then went on a seven-game winning streak. However, they suffered from a “streak hangover” and went 14-21 in the month of April, unable to stop their slide down the standings.
Lotte was the team that stopped Hanhwa's winning streak. On April 2, Lotte's starter Na Gyun-ahn pitched four scoreless innings before Jeon Mir (1 inning), Choi Joon-yong (1 inning), and Kim Won-joong (1 inning) combined for a no-hit relay.
Despite Sanchez's 5⅔ scoreless innings, Hanwha's bullpen of Joo Hyun-sang (1⅓ scoreless innings), Han Seung-hyeok (1 run in ⅓ innings), Park Sang-won (1 run in ⅔ innings), Kim Bum-soo (1 run in ⅓ innings), and Lee Min-woo (1 run in ⅔ innings) gave up one run in the final inning to lose by one run.
After the three-game series against Lotte, the team will return home for a three-game series against the seventh-place Kiwoom Heroes in Daejeon. Kiwoom is 15-19 this season, 1.5 games ahead of Hanwha. While the outcome of the midweek three-game series remains to be seen, Hanwha has a chance to climb up the standings.
The rain has also created an environment where they can use their strongest starting pitchers twice in one week. Hanwha has named Ryu Hyun-jin as the starter for Game 7, and barring any changes, he'll start against Kiwoom in Daejeon on Dec. 12 after four days of rest.
The game against the Kia Tigers at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju was canceled due to rain. With Ryu scheduled to start, Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho said that rather than make any major adjustments to the starting rotation, the team will stick with the existing rotation with extra rest.
Ryu, who came to Hanwha after 12 years in the major leagues, is 2-3 with a 5.21 ERA in seven games this season.
Despite his poor record, he has a heavy fastball and a crisp changeup that finds the right part of the strike zone. On March 30, he earned his 100th career win with a six-inning, two-run (one earned) victory over SSG.
After avoiding first-place KIA, he now faces 10th-place Lotte. However, Lotte's momentum is not overwhelming. Lotte won both games against the No. 3 Samsung Lions on March 3 and 4 in Daegu. The strength of their batting lineup is clearly showing.
Lotte will also have their “Korean ace,” Park Se-woong, on the mound for the first time in three games. Park is 3-2 with a 4.03 ERA in seven games this season. After struggling a bit in the early part of the season, he has pitched quality starts (six or more innings and three or fewer earned runs) in his last three games.
Park did not face Hanhwa last year. In 2022, he appeared in two games, going 1-1 with a 5.11 ERA.
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