Hanwha Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon watches his team play the Kia Tigers in their Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul, on Aug. 1, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – Even after his bullpen blew late leads in two of the past three games in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), both resulting in crushing losses, Hanwha Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon said Friday he has zero worries about his relief corps.
“Our bullpen has been great all season, and that is why blips like this are drawing so much attention,” Kim told reporters before the Eagles took on the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. “These guys are humans, too.”
The Eagles rolled into Seoul after losing two out of three at home in Daejeon, some 140 kilometers south of the capital, against the KT Wiz. On Tuesday, their bullpen surrendered five runs in the top eighth to lose 5-2. Their relievers gave up three runs in the ninth inning before the team held on for a 5-4 win Wednesday.
Then on Thursday, the Eagles took a 4-0 lead into the seventh inning but ended up losing 5-4, with the Wiz scoring once in the seventh, once in the eighth and three in the ninth.
All told, the Eagles’ relievers were charged with 13 earned runs on 16 hits, including three home runs, in nine innings. The Eagles still have the second-lowest bullpen ERA in the KBO at 3.75.
Hanwha Eagles closer Kim Seo-hyeon pitches against the KT Wiz during the club’s Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon, 140 kilometers south of Seoul, on Aug. 6, 2025, in this photo provided by the Eagles.(Yonhap)
Their All-Star closer Kim Seo-hyeon pitched Tuesday and Wednesday, and got charged with a combined five runs on three hits and two walks in one inning of work. As a result, his ERA ballooned from 1.55 to 2.47. This was the first time all season that Kim allowed a run on back-to-back days.
Manager Kim, though, stuck up for his 21-year-old closer, who is fourth in the league with 24 saves.
“This is his first year as our closer, and we can’t possibly ask for more from him,” the skipper said. “Even great pitchers blow saves over the course of a season. This is nothing. If he gets into the game tonight, I hope Seo-hyeon will put these recent games behind him and pitch like he usually does.”
After reeling off 10 straight wins in late July, the Eagles have been stuck in neutral. They are 8-7-1 (wins-losses-ties) in the second half, including a 1-3-0 mark in August.
The Twins are a KBO-best 15-3-0 since the All-Star break, and their 5-1-0 run to open August allowed them to zip past the Eagles to reach first place.
The Eagles-Twins series from Friday to Sunday could be a potential preview of the Korean Series, though Kim wouldn’t go that far at this point in the season.
“We still have about 40 games left,” he said. “Obviously, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about our matchup. But we will still have games to play after this series. We won’t get to clinch first place here. We just have to keep taking care of business, one game at a time.”
(Yonhap)
