Hanwha Eagles starter Ryu Hyun-jin pitches against the Samsung Lions during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, 240 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on May 19, 2024, in this photo provided by the Eagles. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 24 (Korea Bizwire) — For the first time this season in South Korean baseball, the Hanwha Eagles now find themselves in a place eerily familiar to them — at the bottom of the standings.
The combination of the Eagles’ 8-4 loss to the LG Twins and the Lotte Giants’ 10-6 victory over the Kia Tigers on Thursday night meant the Eagles and the Giants traded places.
The Giants had been in last place in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) since April 23, but clawed out of the cellar by sweeping the first-place Tigers at home in the southeastern city of Busan. Having won three straight, the Giants now sit at 18-27-2 (wins-losses-ties). For the month of May, they have the second-best record leaguewide at 10-6-1.
The Eagles, on the other hand, dropped to 19-29-1 Thursday, as their three-game winning streak was halted.
Much of the good vibes from earlier in the season has mostly disappeared for the Eagles as injuries began to pile up.
They were in first place 10 games into the season, with an 8-2 record. And this was before Ryu Hyun-jin, a former major league All-Star pitcher who had rejoined the Eagles in February, had even won a game.
Signing Ryu was a huge coup for the Eagles in the offseason. Even at age 37, the left-hander was expected to lead the way for what pundits saw as a strong rotation. Felix Pena and Ricardo Sanchez, the team’s two foreign starters, were back for another go after solid 2023 seasons. The reigning Rookie of the Year Moon Dong-ju appeared ready for a breakout. Kim Min-woo was deemed more than capable of holding down a spot in the back end.
An Chi-hong of the Hanwha Eagles hits a two-run home run against the LG Twins during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 21, 2024, in this photo provided by the Eagles (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
The Eagles had made the postseason just once between 2008 and 2023, and had finished either last or second-to-last every season from 2019 to 2023. This was supposed to be the year when the dubious streak would end, and the Eagles’ quick start seemed to validate such preseason hype.
However, starting pitching has been one of the Eagles’ weaknesses so far. Ryu is 3-4 with an uncharacteristic ERA of 4.83, though he has pitched better lately. Both Pena and Sanchez are out with injuries. Sanchez, leading the rotation with a 3.35 ERA, has been out since May 17 with elbow problems. Pena took a batted ball off his pitching hand on May 15 and hasn’t pitched since. Kim underwent season-ending elbow surgery on April 30 after pitching in only three games. Moon was demoted to the minor league on April 29 after posting an 8.78 ERA through his first six starts, and only returned Tuesday this week.
On offense, captain Chae Eun-seong has had two stints on the injured list and is only batting .197 with two homers in 32 games, after a 23-homer campaign in his first Eagles season last year. Roh Si-hwan, the reigning league home run and RBI champion, has not been able to keep pace with league leaders in those categories so far this year. First-year import Yonathan Perlaza is tied for the KBO lead with 14 home runs but his defense in the outfield has been suspect.
Now, for some positive signs.
Lotte Giants players celebrate their 4-2 win over the Kia Tigers in a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on May 22, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Ryu tossed five shutout innings Sunday, only the second time he threw a scoreless outing this season. Moon had his best start of the season Tuesday, when he held the defending champions Twins to a hit over five scoreless frames. Pena is expected to return on the weekend. Fill-in starters have performed admirably to keep the Eagles afloat.
The Eagles will need more offense. They are among the worst in production from the No. 3 spot and the cleanup spot in the lineup. They are last in the league in hits, batting average and slugging percentage.
The Eagles will have a three-game away series starting Friday against the reeling SSG Landers, losers of four straight.
The Giants are only a half game up on the Eagles, but their vibes couldn’t be much more different.
In recent years, the Giants had made a habit of starting out well only to fade away by May or June. This year, they never got it going from the beginning and have only just started showing signs of life.
On Thursday, the Giants became the first last-place team to sweep a first-place club in a three-game series since the KBO expanded to 10 teams in 2015.
Victor Reyes of the Lotte Giants hits a single against the Kia Tigers during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on May 22, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
In the first two games, they got it done with excellent pitching. Charlie Barnes held the Tigers to a run in 7 2/3 innings and struck out seven for a 6-1 victory Tuesday. Then Park Se-woong followed that up with eight innings of one-run ball in a 4-2 win.
Aaron Wilkerson gave up three runs in seven innings Thursday, and the bats came alive with 15 hits, including two homers by No. 9 hitter Lee Hak-ju, for a 10-6 victory.
Barnes, Park and Wilkerson have all been among the best starters in the league this month. Young position players have bounced back from slow starts, including the 20-year-old outfielder Yoon Dong-hee, who is batting .343/.408/.463 in May, after struggling to a .229/.281/.373 line in April.
The Giants will look to keep up their momentum against the Samsung Lions at home. The Lions have the best road record in the league at 17-7-1.
(Yonhap)
