Is there a possibility of recapturing the first place? Is there a shocking sweep loss to Doosan in 9th place, and in the end, only Super Ace

Aug 22, 2025

The game between the Hanwha Eagles and the Doosan Bears at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 21st. Hanwha players, who have lost five consecutive games, are disappointed. Daejeon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.21/

It was a shocking three-game series during the week. It would not be enough to chase LG faster, so he was swept away by the ninth-place team. In the end, is Ponce the only card that will overcome this difficult situation.

The Hanwha Eagles lost all three consecutive home games against the Doosan Bears at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon during the week.

It was unusual from day one. Hanwha, which was in a tight race, allowed a 4-5 turnaround and succeeded in tying the game 5-5 with Moon Hyun-min's pushing walk in the bottom of the eighth inning. However, in the second half, Kim Seo-hyun, who was sluggish in the second half, collapsed again in the top of the ninth inning and lost 5-6.

The aftermath of the upset loss on the first day continued the next day. Hanwha's mound collapsed with 16 hits and 13 runs in the game on the 20th. As the batting line revived in the second half, he chased fiercely, but it was not enough to overturn the already wide gap. In the end, they were completely defeated 9-13.

The game between the Hanwha Eagles and the Doosan Bears at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 21st. Hanwha starter Ryu Hyun-jin, who allowed Doosan Bears' Park Gye-beom a come-from-behind bases-loaded walk in the top of the seventh inning, is coming down from the mound. Daejeon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.21/

The final day of the three consecutive games in which Ryu Hyun-jin played also came back with shocking results. On this day, Ryu Hyun-jin tied Doosan's batting lineup to two runs in six innings. He also took the mound in the seventh inning. The number of pitches was about 80, which was enough. However, Ryu Hyun-jin started building runners with consecutive no-outs in the top of the seventh inning, and threw a curve ball at the first pitch to Park Gye-beom with no outs and a bases loaded, making a grand slam possible. The bench, which trusted Ryu Hyun-jin, quickly changed the pitcher due to the grand slam shock, but the atmosphere was already leaning toward Doosan. Ryu Hyun-jin became a losing pitcher with six runs in six innings, and Hanwha lost 3-6 to confirm the sweep of the three consecutive games.

It's an unbelievable result. No matter how good Doosan's momentum is in the second half, Hanwha is by no means strong enough to suffer a three-game sweep. It is shocking that Ryan Weiss and Ryu Hyun-jin could not break the losing streak. The fact that the Hanwha Eagles has lost five consecutive games including the game against Doosan also shows their sluggish performance in recent months. The gap with LG, which ranks first, has widened to 4.5 games.

Now, three consecutive games this weekend are important. Cody Ponce was originally scheduled to take the mound in the series against Doosan, but the mound was postponed due to cold symptoms caused by enteritis. Ponce will play against the SSG Landers in Daejeon on the 22nd. Ponce pitched in three games against SSG this season, showing a strong performance with three wins, no losses, and an ERA of 0.41. The opponent who set the 18K milestone is also SSG.

The game between the Hanwha Eagles and the Doosan Bears at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 21st. Hanwha Ryu Hyun-jin is pitching hard. Daejeon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.21/

SSG delayed the order of Mitch White's appearance and put forward substitute starter Choi Min-joon as Ponce's opponent. The possibility of catching Ponce taking the mound is relatively low, and the calculation is that he will catch the remaining two games. Hanwha must also catch the game in which Ponce takes the mound on the first day of the three consecutive games. And the goal is to win and change the atmosphere in the weekend series against SSG.

However, SSG is also a formidable opponent. He consistently recorded a positive winning rate as a quiet powerhouse, and before he knew it, he rose to third place. It is a team that has risen to just below Hanwha's ranking, taking advantage of Lotte's sluggish performance and falling to fourth place. Hanwha also feels somewhat burdened to face SSG, which has a strong bullpen in this situation.

Is it realistically possible for Hanwha to retake the top spot. For now, the results of this weekend's three consecutive games could suggest.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.