It’s a picture no one saw coming.
The “last place” Hanwha Eagles swept the “first place” LG Twins. They came from behind to win 5-3 on the final day of a three-game weekend series at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. It was the second straight day they won by the same score. After an eight-game losing streak, they won two straight against LG. It was the third win in the second half of the series after going 2-1 against the Doosan Bears in Daejeon on Aug. 11-13.
Trailing 0-1 in the top of the second inning, the Hanwha bats came alive.
No. 5 Kim Tae-yeon opened the inning with a single to right. Choi In-ho followed with a timely triple to center field to tie the game. Luck was on their side. Jang Jin-hyuk’s hit was misplayed by LG first baseman Austin Dean. The runner from third came home. A 2-1 lead.
A sacrifice bunt put runners on first and second. Do-Yoon Lee came through in the clutch. She hit a two-run double to left field. Jung Eun-won drew a walk to load the bases. This time, Noh Si-hwan hit a two-run double to center field. 5-1. The Hanwha bats pushed LG starter Lim Chan-kyu hard.
LG struck first. In the top of the first, Hong Chang-ki, the leadoff hitter, and Kim Hyun-soo, the third baseman, singled. The second inning was 1,2. 안전놀이터
In the fifth off Lu, Moon Bo-kyung hit an RBI single off Hanwha starter Moon Dong-joo.
Trailing 1-5 in the bottom of the second inning, they scored one run. Two innings later, No. 1 Hong Chang-ki, No. 2 Shim Min-jae, and No. 3 Kim Hyun-soo hit consecutive singles to score one run.
However, they failed to capitalize on their scoring chances in the third and fourth innings. In the bottom of the third, Park Hae-min struck out swinging with runners on first and second. In the bottom of the fourth, Austin flied out to center field. He couldn’t bring down Moon Dong-joo, who was shaky.
LG cut the deficit to two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning when Oh Ji-hwan hit a one-run home run. They followed that up with back-to-back singles, but couldn’t capitalize.
Hanwha scored five runs on five hits, while LG managed just three runs on 14 hits.
Moon Dong-ju was disappointing in his final start of the season, giving up three runs on 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings. The offense scored five runs in the top of the second inning to take some pressure off his shoulders, but he wasn’t at his best. 118⅔ innings, 8 wins, 8 losses.
He finished the season with a loss and a 3.72 ERA.
After Moon, Kim Bum-soo, Joo Hyun-sang, and Park Sang-won combined to pitch 4⅔ scoreless innings.