At a time like this, LG's first crisis is to meet Hanwha, the No. 1 winning percentage in April

At a time like this, LG's first crisis is to meet Hanwha, the No. 1 winning percentage in April

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LG will hold three consecutive games against the Hanwha Eagles during the week at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon from May 29 to May 1. Hanwha is currently the most demanding opponent in the KBO League. With 14 wins and 8 losses this month, the team ranks first (0.636) in monthly win rate with the Lotte Giants. Hanwha boasts an overwhelming win rate of 13 wins and 3 losses (0.813) in its last 16 games since May 9. It is similar to how LG had won seven consecutive games by leading strong starters and batters early in the season. Hanwha, which was at the bottom (4 wins and 10 losses) as of May 8, rose to the third (17 wins and 13 losses).안전놀이터

LG is showing an unusual downward trend. His prowess that had been leading the league in the early days of this season disappeared suddenly. He has been sluggish in the recent seven games, with two wins and five losses. Following last week's first consecutive losses of the season (against the SSG Landers on April 20 and the NC Dinos on April 22), the team had an inferiority series (more than two losses in three consecutive games, one win and two losses in the game against NC Dinos on April 22 and 24). It was also lagging behind the "defending champion" KIA Tigers by one win and two losses in three consecutive games on the weekend.

If LG loses three consecutive inferiority series against Hanwha this week, it cannot be guaranteed that it will lead the team even in first place. As of April 19, the team had a maximum gap of six games against the second-ranked Hanwha Eagles, but the gap with the second-ranked team (Samsung Lions) has narrowed to three games.

From left, Chirinos, Son Joo-young, Hernandez, Lim Chan-gyu. IS Photo

This indicates that baseball has lost strength in starting pitchers. The ERA of starting pitchers soared to 3.38 (second place) from 1.50 (first place) through March. The absence of Elijah Hernandez, who was diagnosed with adductor muscle injury in his right leg for six weeks, is a sign of his absence. Son Ju-young, the second starting pitcher, also faltered with an ERA of 4.50 this month.

The bullpen pitcher lineup, which had been the biggest concern before the season's opening, remains solid with an earned run average of 2.66 (ranking first). However, his team's batting average in the recent seven games has been sluggish with 0.201 (ranked eighth). Except for foreign hitter Austin Dean, none of them has achieved a batting average of .300 during the period.

Moon Bo-kyung and Kim Hyun-soo, who were swinging the bat in the early days of the season, have also lost some sense of hitting. "It's about time that Hong Chang-ki (0.225 batting average) and Shin Min-jae (0.208) got a higher sense of hitting, but they are not showing any signs of hitting at all," LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop lamented. He replaced Hong with Park Hae-min as leadoff, but that was not effective. Oh started only one game last week on the starting list due to back pain. The success rate of stealing bases, which was close to 90 percent at one point, dropped to 72.2 percent (26 successes and 10 failures). He still has a different record of ranking first in errors, but his sense of stability is less than his solid performance in the early days of the season.

The 2025 KB0 League professional baseball game between the LG Twins and the Hanwha Eagles was held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the afternoon of the 25th. Ryu Hyun-jin, who became a losing pitcher with a 0-5 loss, greets the crowd after the game. Jamsil = Reporter Kim Min-gyu mgkim1@edaily.co.kr / 2025.03.25/

For LG, Song Seung-ki, Yonny Chirinos, and Son Ju-young will take the mound in succession in three consecutive games during the week against the Hanwha Eagles. In the previous game, Chirinos only pitched five innings (77 pitches) due to forearm muscle fatigue. "Chirinos seem to need management," manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said. Hanwha, which boasts strong starting baseball capabilities these days, is in the order of Ryan Weiss, Ryu Hyun-jin, and Um Sang-baek. As the team lost in three consecutive away games against the LG Twins on March 25-27, it is seeking revenge in the upcoming showdown.

According to the results of the nine consecutive games (against Hanwha-SSG-Doosan Bears) until May 7, LG is expected to face a critical crisis in its lead. It could also have a significant impact on the league ranking. Choi Chae-heung is expected to take the mound as a substitute for Hernandez in the upcoming nine consecutive games, and Coen Win, a temporary substitute foreign player, will make his KBO League debut.