Hanwha Eagles lacked finishing power. They fell short in the bullpen battle against the LG Twins.
Hanwha bolstered its first-team roster ahead of the game against LG at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 25th. The previous day, Hanwha dropped Heo In-seo and Lee Sang-hyuk from the first team and registered bullpen pitchers Kim Beom-su and Kim Jong-soo to the first-team roster.
Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon noted before the game, "LG is currently performing well offensively, so we can't play as usual; we need to make changes to prevent runs as much as possible because defending well gives us chances to win. We are trying to manage it that way." Hanwha included only seven bullpen pitchers in their opening series roster.
Starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin completely shut down the LG lineup through six innings. He allowed three hits, struck out five batters, issued no walks, and did not allow any runs. He successfully navigated through threats in the 2nd with no outs at first base and in the 4th with no outs at second base. Ryu, who threw 80 pitches through the 6th inning, was replaced before the 7th inning in preparation for his Sunday start. Before the game, Kim mentioned that Ryu's pitch count would be "around 80 to 90."
In the 7th inning, Park Sang-won came in as the second pitcher. Park allowed lead-off batter Austin to walk and also issued a walk to Moon Bo-kyung, putting the team in a no outs, first and second base situation. A sacrifice bunt resulted in one out at second and third base.
Yoon Si-hwan cleanly caught a ground ball hit by Park Dong-won toward third base and threw home, but Austin, the runner on third base, was too fast and was safe. Catcher Choi Jae-hoon caught the one-bounce throw but failed to tag the runner, throwing out the batter-runner at first base instead. Park Sang-won allowed Kim Hyun-soo to hit by a pitch, but managed to avoid further runs with two outs and runners on first and second base.
Trailing 0-1 in the bottom of the 8th, Hanwha brought in rookie pitcher Jeong Woo-joo. Jeong allowed lead-off batter Koo Bon-hyeok to walk and surrendered a left-field hit to Hong Chang-ki. A sacrifice bunt attempt by Song Chan-hee resulted in a foul on the first pitch, and then Jeong threw three balls. On the fifth pitch, Song Chan-hee's sacrifice bunt attempt was also a foul. After two foul balls in a full count, Jeong allowed a hit by pitch.
Jeong Woo-joo pitched one perfect inning in his debut on the 23rd against KT, where Hanwha was trailing 3-4. He managed to finish his debut without allowing any runs.
Before the game, Manager Kim praised Jeong Woo-joo for his solid debut, saying, "He pitched well. Woo-joo started off strong. The first game is huge, especially for rookies. If they can get that experience down, their mental burden and confidence can change dramatically. Even older players get nervous, so why would a 19-year-old rookie not feel pressure? Everyone gets nervous, but showing calmness on the mound is significant."
On that day, Jeong Woo-joo went to the mound against LG again in a one-run deficit, but it resulted in the worst outcome. In that one-run-down situation, there was no decision to bring in the key bullpen pitchers Kim Seo-hyun and Han Seung-hyuk.
Once it became a no outs, bases loaded situation, Jeong Woo-joo was replaced by Kim Beom-su. Kim allowed a one-run single to Austin and a two-run double to Moon Bo-kyung down the right field line. A routine fly ball from Oh Ji-hwan turned into a fielding error by shortstop Lee Do-yoon, extending the score to 0-5.
Eventually, Hanwha lost 0-5.
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