I think the defense will decide the game"...The master was right, but Hanwha lost
I think the defense will decide the game"...The master was right, but Hanwha lost
Blog Article
Hanwha lost its first game of three consecutive weekend series against the Lotte Giants of the "2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League" held at Sajik Stadium on Friday, 4-6. Due to the loss on the day, the team had 35 wins, two draws and 42 losses, losing its previous record to Lotte (35 wins, three draws and 40 losses) in the league.
On the day, Hanwha took the lead by scoring the first run against Lotte ace Aaron Wilkerson. The starting pitcher was also Jaime Barria, a starting matchup that would not be lagging behind the opponent team, so he could expect a win, but his defense, which he had been concerned about, hampered his performance.
"Both teams will have good pitchers today (on the 28th). I think the game will be decided in defense rather than in many points," Kim told reporters before the game. "We will try to take the first game by taking advantage of our strengths." Then, Hanwha's mood started to weaken in defense.밤알바
The first mistake was made in the bottom of the third inning when Hanwha led 3-0. The second base was hit by a double by the first batter, Son Seong-bin. With a ball count of 0-2, the batter seemed to treat Hwang with a swing strikeout, but catcher Choi Jae-hoon failed to catch the ball perfectly, sending the batter to the first base with a strikeout and a wild pitch. Son made a wild pitch to the third base.
The team quickly got runners at first and third bases with no outs. The Hanwha Eagles grounded out Yoon Dong-hee to the second base, but had to settle for changing the out count and score. Afterwards, Victor Reyes hit a timely RBI single, and the team was trailing 3-2.
The second mistake came in the bottom of the sixth inning when the score was 3-4. First baseman Kim Tae-yeon made a catch error on leadoff batter Son Seong-bin's grounder, sending a runner to the ground. Afterwards, Hanwha had to stop short of catching a leading runner on Hwang's grounder to the first base, and later gave up a two-run double to Reyes with two outs and runners on first and second bases, which allowed Hwang to steal a base and Jeon to walk, widening the gap to 3-6.
Hanwha made it 4-6 in the top of the seventh inning when pinch hitter Choi In-ho hit a ground ball to the second base with no outs and runners on the first and third bases, exchanging scores and outcounts, but failed to catch up afterwards and fell to its knees. The official error on the day was one (a Kim Tae-yeon catch error at the end of the sixth inning), but invisible small mistakes determined the outcome.
Since Kim's inauguration, Hanwha has been gradually improving its ranking. Prior to the day, the team had taken a strong step toward the Maginot Line to advance to the postseason with a game gap of "3" against the fifth place (SSG Landers), but made a mistake in the defense that was emphasized before the game, and had to turn lonely.
Meanwhile, Hanwha has announced that Nam Ji-min (ERA 0 in four innings in two games this year) will be the starting pitcher for the second game of three consecutive weekend games. On the day, Nam will make his first start of this season.
In contrast, Lotte selected Park Jin (two losses in 16 games and an ERA of 3.12 in 17 ⅓ innings) as its starting pitcher. Like Nam Ji-min, Park Jin will also start for the first time this year.
The second game of the three consecutive weekend series between Hanwha and Lotte is scheduled to be held at Sajik Stadium at 17:00 on the 29th.