It was a dazzling pitching battle. The winner of the pitching duel was Moon Dong-ju (20-Hanwha Eagles), the “Prince of Daejeon,” who remained focused from start to finish.
Hanwha earned a 2-1 victory over the visiting LG Twins in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Wednesday, thanks to Moon Dong-ju, who pitched 7⅓ innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts and one walk, and Moon Hyun-bin, who hit a game-winning two-run double in the first inning. Despite a tense eighth inning, the game ended at 9:09 p.m., the fastest of the five stadiums where the game was played.
With its second straight win, Hanwha improved to 34 wins, 40 losses and four draws. Hanwha, which had been in last place since the middle of last month, has since rebounded with a remarkable eight-game winning streak, setting the stage for a rebound that could have them dreaming of fall baseball in the second half. 안전놀이터추천
LG, on the other hand, which clinched the top spot in the first half of the season, has lost two straight games to fall to 49 wins, 30 losses and two draws, just shy of the 50-win mark. Hanwha improved its season record against both teams to 4 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw.
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LG Twins vs Hanwha Eagles starting lineup for game 10 of the season on July 12 (Jamsil Stadium, 17,812 fans)
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LG’s batting order was Hong Chang-ki (right field), Moon Sung-joo (left field), Kim Hyun-soo (designated hitter), Austin Dean (first base), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Park Dong-won (catcher), Moon Bo-kyung (third base), Park Hae-min (center field), and Shin Min-jae (second base). The starting pitcher was Casey Kelly.
On this day, the focus was on pitching. Although Kelly is in his fifth year in the KBO, he has been up and down this season, so the team decided to keep Im Chan-gyu, who has been serving as more than a third starter, in the bullpen.
Before the game, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, “I removed Im Chan-kyu from the roster for tomorrow’s game. We will use him carefully. I can’t be 100% sure.” Although the rain clouds avoided Jamsil Stadium today, a lot of rain is expected again on the 13th, the last day of the first half. Therefore, the team was ready to go all out on this day.
Hanwha’s lineup consisted of Lee Jin-young (right fielder), Kim In-hwan (designated hitter), Noh Shi-hwan (third baseman), Chae Eun-sung (first baseman), Moon Hyun-bin (center fielder), Choi Jae-hoon (catcher), Nick Williams (left fielder), Jeong Won (second baseman), and Lee Do-yoon (shortstop). Moon Dong-ju was the starting pitcher.
Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho was concerned about the batting lineup. “It was good for Kelly, and we considered that the opponent was a right-handed pitcher,” he said, adding that he planned to use Kim In-hwan (left) and Kim Tae-yeon (right) as a platoon. As for Williams, who has been in a slump, he said, “I’m still working on my form with the batting coach. I told him not to worry about the results and to have fun.”
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Kelly, shaken from the first inning, ‘bullpened Im Chan-kyu from the second inning’… ‘Moon Dong-ju is the same’
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Kelly was shaky from the first inning, as LG manager Yoon Kyung-yup feared. In the first inning, he gave up back-to-back hits to Kim In-hwan and Noh Si-hwan, and in the second inning, he was hit by a two-run double by Moon Hyun-bin, who Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho had named as the hitter of the first half before the game.
In the second inning, Lim Chan-kyu came out of the bullpen. As it was the last game of the first half, Kelly