The Hanwha Eagles will hold three consecutive away games against the Lotte Giants at Sajik Stadium in Busan from Friday. Hanwha, which has been on a steep rise with seven wins and one loss in the past eight games, is no longer a dream to advance to the fifth place in a game to seventh place by one match against KT. It has come true, and it is a real battle from now on. 

The three consecutive sweeps of the two weekends over the past two weeks were crucial. Hanwha, which narrowed its gap with fifth place by sweeping the Munhak SSG match on the 16th and 18th to three games at once, increased its momentum by sweeping the Doosan Bears match in Jamsil on the 23rd and 25th. It was all the more meaningful because it was the first sweep against Doosan in 19 years since the three consecutive games in Cheongju on June 4-6, 2005. It was the first time in 19 years for Hanwha, which has been swept 13 times by Doosan in the meantime. 

He is driving his momentum to Busan. For Hanwha, it is a good trend to overcome another jinx. 

Hanwha was particularly disappointed when it met Lotte in the away game in Sajik. As the Sajik away game was the last season in 2010 (3 wins and 2 losses), it was always inferior to Sajik away game for 13 years from 2011 to last year. 

With two wins and eight losses in 2011, eight losses and one draw in 2012, one win seven in 2013, one win six in 2014, two wins and three losses in 2015, two wins and four losses in 2016, two wins and six losses in 2017, three wins and five losses in 2018, eight losses in 2020, three wins and one draw in 2021, three wins and five losses in 2022 and two wins and five losses last year, they have never shown an edge in the Sajik away game in 13 years. 

During this period, Hanwha was inferior even in 2018, the only autumn baseball season for the Korean pro baseball league. This year, the team lost all three games in Sajik from May 8-9 and June 28. Notably, the team lost heavily on May 9, allowing 18 goals, the most among its teams, in this season. In the past 14 years, the team has won 23 games, 75 losses, and 2 draws in 100 away games in Sajik, with a winning rate of only 2335 percent. 

The result is not easy to understand. During the 13 years between 2011 and 2023, Hanwha remained at the bottom of the list with No. 1 and Lotte with No. 3. Of course, Lotte (.481) had a winning rate of 7 percent higher than that of Hanwha (.411) during the period, but the gap is not that big of a one-sided loss. 

During the same period, Hanwha had an advantage in 107 games with 56 wins, 50 losses and one draw (winning rate .528) at the match against Lotte at its home in Daejeon, but the game does not end well in Busan. There is nothing more to add than the expression "Jinx at Sajik Stadium." 

Hanwha needs to overcome the tired Sajik jinx in order to make a big turnaround in the remaining five seasons. Hanwha has eight more games to play against Lotte, five of which are away from Sajik. Following this three-game series, three-game series of Sajik are scheduled for the 13th-15th of next month. It is no exaggeration to say that Hanwha's five strongest teams depend on the outcome of the match against Lotte. 

For the Hanwha Eagles, it is important that he gets the first step of the three consecutive games on Wednesday. Starting pitcher Moon Dong-ju has heavy shoulders. Moon has been struggling with six wins and seven losses and an earned run average of 5.71 in 19 games (99 ⅓ innings), but has been stabilizing with three wins and one loss and an earned run average of 3.27 in six games (33 innings) in the second half of this season. He added a fork ball to his pitching repertoire with a new weapon, and as he controlled his ball to a certain extent, his fastball capability has revived. 

However, Lotte was weak against Lotte in seven games (five starts, 24 ⅔ innings) with one win and three losses and an earned run average of 6.20. He took the mound only once at Sajik Stadium, but his performance was not good. In his first appearance at Sajik Stadium on June 13 last year, he ended up losing the game by allowing nine hits (one homer) and three walks, two strikeouts and six runs in two ⅔ innings. 

In Lotte, right-hander Park Se-woong, who is weak against Hanwha, will start. Park, who has been sluggish in 24 games (134 innings) with six wins and nine losses and an ERA of 5.44 this season, suffered a crushing defeat against Hanwha in Daejeon on May 28 by allowing 11 hits (one homer), three walks, one strikeout and 10 runs (nine earned runs) in four ⅔ innings. The most individual lost game. 

In total, the team has a fierce rivalry with the Hanwha Eagles by recording one win, nine losses and an 8.51 ERA in 17 games (16 starts and 80 ⅓ innings). This is a task that Park must overcome. Lotte, which is ranking eighth, four games behind KT in fifth place, cannot afford to back down.

BY: 메이저놀이터