After 10 extra innings and four hours of hard-fought battles, a hard-fought win. And the joy of a winning series.
The Hanwha Eagles won the eighth game of the season against the Lotte Giants at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 15th, 5-4, thanks to Chae Eun-sung’s game-winning hit in the top of the 10th inning. It was Hanwha’s second sweep of the three-game series in Busan.
Peña pitched 5⅓ innings of two-run ball. He was perfect until the fourth inning, when he gave up a home run to Lotte’s Kim Min-seok.
The Hanwha bats were led by the team’s top batting average in June, as fearsome rookie Moon Hyun-bin homered for the second straight game. Despite attacking the Lotte mound with 14 hits and 10 walks, the offense was unable to capitalize on the crunch time of the Lotte pitching staff. In fact, the bullpen gave up the tying run in the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings.
But in the final moments, the middle infield and veterans shined. Jung Eun-won singled in the eighth inning, walked in the 10th, and the game-winning hit came from “9 billion free agent” Chae Eun-sung.
Lotte also put up a good fight, utilizing all of their pitchers, including Koo Seung-min and Kim Won-joong, but came up short in the end.
Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho said after the game, “Peña gave up two runs on a home run, but he did his job as a starter. Kang Jae-min came in at a crucial moment and did a good job of stopping the rally. Park Sang-won also gave up a run, but he pitched multiple innings to secure the win.”
“In the batting lineup, Lee Jin-young’s leadoff home run and Moon Hyun-bin’s two-run double set the tone early, and Jung Eun-won and Chae Eun-sung provided valuable RBIs when we needed them. I would like to praise all the players for staying focused and doing their best to win 안전놀이터.”