'5th Place Recovery' Hanwha Manager Kim Kyung-moon Says to Closer Park Sang-won, "You Made Many People Anxious; It Means Something That You Held Them Off" [Changwon Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

He survived a tense ninth inning, and the result was Hanwha Eagles' first series sweep of the season. With that, they also reclaimed the fifth-place position.

Hanwha has played 47 games this season, recording 23 wins and 24 losses, climbing to the .500 mark to take sole possession of fifth place. Just early this month, they were trailing the last-place team by 0.5 games, but they have now leaped into the top five.

The victory over the Doosan Bears on the 24th at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark was decisive. Ryu Hyun-jin was chasing his 200th career win in both Korea and the U.S., and this was a game Hanwha had to win to secure their first series sweep of the season and propel themselves into fifth place.

After finalizing a contract with temporary replacement Jack Cushing, Lee Min-woo was serving as the temporary closer. On this day, instead of Lee Min-woo, who had pitched on consecutive days and recorded a save, Park Sang-won entered in the bottom of the ninth with Hanwha leading 5-2. After allowing three consecutive hits, the team found itself in a bases-loaded, no-out crisis, yet the Hanwha bench stuck with Park.

Park induced a ground ball to the pitcher's mound from Park Chan-ho to prevent a run, then retired Park Ji-hoon with a foul fly to right field and Das Cameron with a ground ball to the shortstop, securing his first save of the season and delivering a precious win for the team.

Kim Kyung-moon (68), Hanwha's manager, reflected on the moment ahead of Hanwha's visit to Changwon NC Park to face the NC Dinos on the 26th in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League. "You made many people anxious, and in any case, you held off runners in two games, so I think it's a relief for the team. I would have preferred if you had held off runners without letting any on base, but I believe that having more confidence in your ability to hold them off will lead to even better results," he said.

While the process is as important as the result in baseball, sometimes even taking a detour can create a positive cycle if it leads to Seoul. Especially since he played a key role in the winning lineup last year but has shown inconsistent pitching this season, the saves he secured in critical situations are expected to provide significant help moving forward.

Manager Kim added, "If you think that game had been turned around, it would have counted as two losses for the team, not just one. The team's atmosphere would have become heavy. I believe that when our pitchers in the eighth and the relievers in the ninth hold off the opposition, it has a positive impact on the next game as well."

Hanwha, embarking on their road trip in a positive atmosphere, also received good news. Kang Baek-ho, who had been excluded from the starting lineup for two consecutive games due to discomfort in his back, returned to the starting lineup on this day. Manager Kim said about Kang's return, "He said he was fine after resting completely for three days, so we put him in the lineup."

Hanwha faced NC's starting pitcher Curtis Taylor with the following batting order: Lee Won-seok (center field), Yonatan Peraza (right field), Moon Hyun-bin (left field), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Noh Si-hwan (third base), Kim Tae-yeon (first base), Lee Do-yoon (second base), Heo In-seo (catcher), and Sim Woo-jun (shortstop). Starting pitcher Will Hernandez will take the mound.

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*This content was translated by AI.