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[mdtoday = Reporter Kim Gyo-sik] The Hanwha Eagles have slipped to ninth place after early-season pitching breakdowns and a wave of injuries. Manager Kim Kyung-moon’s promises of “fall baseball” and a push into the top four have shifted from rallying cries into heavy burdens on the entire club.
On May 3 in Daegu against Samsung, Hanwha dropped a 6-7 walk-off. In the bottom of the ninth, closer Jack Cushing surrendered a go-ahead, three-run walk-off homer to Lewin Díaz. The loss left the Eagles at 12-18 on the season, just half a game ahead of last-place Kiwoom — a single result could slip them down to 10th.
The sting of the defeat was in how it played out. Heo In-seo hit homers in back-to-back at-bats in the fifth and seventh innings — his third straight game with a long ball — and the offense built a 6-4 lead. But the pitching staff failed to protect that hard-earned edge, leaving the team with more than just another loss: a pervasive sense of strain across the roster.
Hanwha’s pitching crisis started almost immediately after Opening Day. Foreign starter Owen White exited early with an injury, and Wilkel Hernandez and Moon Dong-ju have also been sidelined, drastically reducing dependable options in the rotation. As the starters faltered, the bullpen was overtaxed; command issues among the late-inning setup men and a change in the closer role have hardened the team’s late-game instability.
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