Five eagles completed Ryu Hyun-jin and Moon Dong-ju are the only ones left Hanwha heading toward the flawless starting kingdom

2.57 ERA. The mound of the Hanwha Eagles has changed. It is as expected.

Hanwha Eagles won 3-1 against SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 27th thanks to Ricardo Sanchez (27), who pitched well in five ⅔ innings with three hits, two outs and eight strikeouts and one run.

With this result, Hanwha has won three consecutive games since losing the opening game. With three wins and one loss, it is tying for second with the NC Dinos and Doosan Bears, following the KIA Tigers (3 wins).

The secret can be clearly found in the strength of the mound. Last year, the ninth-ranked Hanwha Eagles ranked 10th in batting average (0.241) and eighth in ERA (4.38), both of which showed poor pitching and hitting performance.

After the end of the last season, he brought in free agent infielder Ahn Chi-hong (34), and also recruited Kim Kang-min (42) and catcher Lee Jae-won (36), who were released from the SSG in the second draft. Despite solid reinforcement of his batting lineup, Ryu Hyun-jin (37) was the only one to focus. After playing for 11 seasons in the Major League, Ryu refused to offer multi-year contracts and chose to return to his former team, the Hanwha Eagles. He signed an eight-year, 17 billion-won (17 million U.S. dollars) contract, the highest ever in Korea, but the amount seemed not enough to accommodate Ryu. As such, he had high expectations for Ryu.

The team has established a solid starting lineup that will lead to Ryu Hyun-jin, Felix Peña (34), Sanchez, and Moon Dong-ju (21). Kim Min-woo (29) took the last spot, beating Hwang Joon-seo (19), the top rookie in the group. Manager Choi Won-ho said that Kim Min-woo's ball is the best. The team also played a role in judging that Kim is not easy to use in the bullpen.

Kim Min-woo, the fifth starter, played his third game in the rotation situation. In the game against SSG on the 26th, he pitched 91 pitches in five innings, giving up two hits, three outs and striking out six. As Coach Choi Won-ho evaluated it, he displayed the most outstanding pitching among starting pitchers since the opening of the season.

Peña also showed good performance in quality start (more than six innings of starting pitcher and less than three earned runs) with six hits, one out and four strikeouts and two runs allowed in six ⅔ innings in an away game with the LG Twins on the 24th. It is very encouraging that all three of his wins since the season's opening have been won by starting pitchers. It is a good start that signals Hanwha's changed starting baseball this season.

What's left are Ryu Hyun-jin and Moon Dong-ju. Moon will start Game 3 of the SSG series at 6:30 p.m. on the day at SSG Landers Field. After pitching in two scoreless innings in one exhibition game, Moon started the Seoul Series Special Game of the 2024 MLB World Tour against the San Diego Padres on the 17th and recorded four walks, two strikeouts and one run in two innings. He lost a point due to a lot of walks in the first inning, but later recovered stability and struck out big league hitters to increase his confidence.

However, he lacked the number of pitches ahead of the opening game, and finished preparing to start the game by throwing 69 pitches in the second division. This is why he is the last among the starting pitchers to play. Ahead of the opening game against LG on the 23rd, Choi Won-ho said, "I think my ball speed has recovered to some extent now. I was worried that he would not be able to throw the ball with high intensity when he joined the national team. Fortunately, he said he had no problem with his body even after throwing it yesterday, so I think it will be okay."

Moon Dong-ju, the first designated pitcher for the 2022 Hanwha Eagles, suffered ups and downs in his first season, but won the Rookie of the Year award with eight wins and eight losses with ERA of 3.72 in 23 games last year. After being selected as a member of the national team, he addressed military service issues with the gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games, and emerged as a representative pitcher of the league. He may be sluggish in a few games right now, but he doesn't seem to need to worry about Moon's performance in the season.

Therefore, what I am most excited about is Ryu Hyun-jin, who suffered a painful failure in the opening game. Ryu started the game against LG on the 23rd, but he became a losing pitcher by throwing 86 pitches during three ⅔ innings, allowing five runs (two earned) in six hits, three outs and one out. Although he was given more earned runs due to lack of defense assistance and increased the number of pitches, he suffered uncharacteristically poor control of his pitches.

Ryu Hyun-jin also said, "My fastball was okay in the beginning, but I was pushed to the center in the end. I was disappointed with my breaking ball control," adding, "I will think I feel like I got vaccinated and throw well next time."

Ryu will start at the opening game at home to the KT Wiz at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Wednesday. Attention is focusing on the return of the king. If Ryu boasts robust performance unlike the opening game, Daejeon could heat up baseball fever.

What's even scarier is that even if one of them falters, Hwang Joon-seo, who is taking the starting class in the second division, is preparing to fill the spot at any time. Hwang Joon-seo started the SSG and Futures League held at Seosan Stadium on the 27th and raised expectations by pitching three hits (one homer) with two walks, three strikeouts and one run in four innings.

The performance of Hanwha's starting pitcher "Five Eagle Brothers" this season could determine the dream of autumn baseball. Looking at the beginning of the season, it is expected that the team will be able to portray a rosy future.

BY: 토토