'A remarkable 5-game winning streak after 377 days': Hanwha, Wang Yencheng earns 11th win as lineup explodes for 19 runs... LG handed '4-game losing streak' [Daejeon On-the-Ground Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

He dealt a painful blow to a veteran pitcher who has recorded 112 wins in Major League Baseball (MLB). Shattering the LG Twins' pitching staff, Hanwha enjoyed a satisfying five-game winning streak.

On the 9th, Hanwha secured a 19-3 victory over the LG Twins at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game.

With the five-game winning streak, Hanwha recorded 54 wins, 65 losses, and 3 ties, narrowing the gap with fifth-place Doosan Bears, who suffered a loss on this day, to just seven games. The gap with sixth-place NC Dinos is now 3.5 games. Hanwha's five-game winning streak comes after more than a year, precisely 377 days since their last such run against Kiwoom on August 28 last year.

In contrast, LG fell into a four-game losing streak but recorded 68 wins, 55 losses, and one tie. However, with fourth-place KIA Tigers also suffering a loss, LG maintained third place by just half a game.

Hanwha lined up its batting order as follows: Sim Woo-jun (shortstop), Choi In-ho (center fielder), Moon Hyun-bin (left fielder), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Noh Si-hwan (third baseman), Yonatan Peraza (right fielder), Heo In-seo (catcher), Kim Tae-yeon (first baseman), and Hwang Young-mok (second baseman). Wang Yencheng was the starting pitcher.

LG countered with Shin Min-jae (second baseman), Park Hae-min (center fielder), Austin Dean (first baseman), Song Chan-ui (left fielder), Moon Jung-bin (designated hitter), Koo Bon-hyuk (third baseman), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Lee Ju-heon (catcher), and Hong Chang-ki (right fielder). Carlos Kara-sco took the mound as the starter.

The Hanwha lineup, which has been firing on all cylinders with a four-game winning streak, once again made the burden on starting pitcher Wang Yencheng feel light. In the bottom of the first inning, Sim Woo-jun's infield single and Choi In-ho's bunt single, followed by an opposing error that left bases loaded with no outs, set up Moon Hyun-bin's sacrifice fly for the first run. However, Kang Baek-ho flew out to left field and Noh Si-hwan grounded out to second base, preventing further runs from being added at that time.

The failure to pull away proved painful. In the top of the third inning with two outs and a runner on second base, Wang Yencheng allowed an equalizer after a 10-pitch duel against Park Hae-min, who hit a double straight into the right-field wall.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Hanwha's lineup relentlessly harassed Kara-sco. Kara-sco's control wavered, and leadoff batter Kang Baek-ho drew a walk. Noh Si-hwan followed with an infield single to left field, and Peraza also drew a walk, creating a bases-loaded situation with no outs.

Heo In-seo hit a ball that rolled along the left-field line, allowing two runners to score. Kim Tae-yeon, facing a favorable 3-0 count, fought back to a full count before being caught looking at a two-seam fastball that grazed the upper inside corner on the sixth pitch, resulting in a strikeout.

However, with one out and runners on first and second, Hwang Young-mok grounded out to the infield, advancing only the runner from second base. Sim Woo-jun then singled to center field, adding another run.

LG replaced Kara-sco with John Kennedy, judging that they could not afford to give up the game easily despite trailing by three runs.

Kennedy retired Choi In-ho on an infield grounder with two outs and runners on first and second to end the inning, but he was shaken in the fifth. Leadoff batter Moon Hyun-bin singled to left field, Kang Baek-ho singled to center field, setting up a scoring opportunity. When Noh Si-hwan's at-bat produced a pitch that missed the zone significantly, Hanwha brought in Go Woo-seok.

Was it because his body wasn't fully warmed up? Go Woo-seok also struggled with control. He allowed a straight fastball walk to Noh Si-hwan, creating a bases-loaded crisis, and then issued another walk to Peraza, resulting in a run scored via a bases-loaded walk. Although he escaped the immediate danger by striking out Heo In-seo swinging and retiring Kim Tae-yeon on a fly ball to right field, Hwang Young-mok's ground ball deflected off Go Woo-seok's glove and became an infield hit. During that play, another runner crossed home plate. Sim Woo-jun was then retired on a grounder to third base, but Hanwha continued to use its winning pitchers in succession, yet the score gap widened further to 1-6.

In contrast, Hanwha's starter Wang Yencheng delivered solid pitching. Except for the one run allowed in the third inning, he never wavered even when allowing runners on base. In the top of the fourth, after taking a hit from leadoff batter Moon Jung-bin, he induced a ground ball to the pitcher by throwing a low fastball to Koo Bon-hyuk. Despite his posture collapsing, Wang Yencheng fielded the ball and threw aggressively to second base, then to first base, completing a double play that retired two runners. In the fifth inning, with one out and a runner on first, he directly fielded a ground ball and converted it into another double play, extinguishing the threat himself.

The momentum shifted instantly in Hanwha's favor. Even after adding another run in the bottom of the sixth, Hanwha exploded for a massive 12-run outburst in the bottom of the eighth inning, highlighted by Heo In-seo's two-run single and Han Ji-yoon's bases-loaded home run as a pinch hitter that cleared the monster wall. Han Ji-yoon capped his season with his fourth home run, marking his first career grand slam.

With the team leading 19-1, Kim Seo-hyun took the mound in the top of the ninth inning. He allowed two hits and two walks, giving up two runs, but then retired Lee Young-bin on a strikeout looking, turned Son Yong-jun into an infield grounder to second base, and struck out Kang Min-gyun swinging, sealing the game.

Wang Yencheng, scheduled to participate in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games as part of the Taiwan national team, threw 92 pitches over six innings on this day, allowing seven hits, one walk, and striking out one batter while surrendering only one earned run. His ERA (Earned Run Average) dropped from 3.86 to 3.75, securing his 11th win of the season (with five losses).

In contrast, LG's Kara-sco struggled over 3⅔ innings, throwing 75 pitches and allowing six hits, two walks, striking out five batters, and surrendering four runs (three earned). This was the first time since joining LG last month that Kara-sco was pulled early in a game, leaving him with two losses (and four wins) for the season.

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*This content was translated by AI.