Hanwha center fielder Kim In-hwan (29) delivered two crucial hits against the LG bullpen to lead his team to a late-game victory.
Kim In-hwan batted fifth in the lineup and went 메이저사이트 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs to lead Hanwha to a 6-5 victory over LG in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Daejeon’s Hanwha Life Eagles Park on Monday.
Trailing 3-4 with runners on first and second in the seventh inning, he blasted a come-from-behind two-run double off LG’s Seung-jo Sidearm Park. He waited for Park’s first-pitch changeup and lined it into the gap in right-center field. A single to make it 5-4.
In the top of the ninth, Park gave up the tying run. However, in the bottom of the ninth, with the bases loaded, he pushed a low fastball from LG closer Ko Woo-seok to the left side of the plate, setting the stage for the final out.
With two outs and Choi Jae-hoon on first and third, Go Woo-seok was thrown out at the plate, allowing Noh Si-hwan to score the winning run to give Hanwha a 6-5 lead. Escaping a three-game losing streak and earning their 20th win of the season (32-3).
After the game, Kim In-hwan said, “I’m disappointed with the final hit (in the top of the ninth), but it’s good that the team won. Even though we conceded early, the atmosphere wasn’t bad. The players were cheering each other on that they could catch up, so it was a good result.”
Park Myung-geun in the seventh and Ko Woo-seok in the ninth were both able to hit the deciding runs with fastballs. Kim In-hwan said, “Against Park Myung-geun, I went in thinking, ‘Don’t miss the ball that’s going to win the game.’ I thought a changeup would come in, so I drew a path for the ball to come in and hit it. I watched a video of Park’s pitches (before the game) and got the point,” Kim explained.
His hit against closer Ko Woo-seok was also noteworthy. It was a fastball that came in low to the body and was difficult to hit. “He has a very good fastball, so when I saw a fastball, I was going to hit it unconditionally. It was a difficult course, but I was lucky to get a hit and felt good,” he said humbly.
Kim In-hwan, who is batting 3-for-3 with one home run and eight RBIs in eight games (30 at-bats) in June, is forming a 3-5 center field lineup with Chae Eun-sung and Roh Si-hwan. Depending on the opponent and the situation, he can bat fourth or fifth. “I don’t care about the batting order. (Noh) Si-hwan and (Chae) Eun-sung-hyung are hitting well in front of me, so I don’t feel any pressure. I just focus on facing the pitcher in any order,” he said.