“Furado overpowered the opponent like an ace”
The Kiwoom Heroes snapped a two-game losing streak and avoided a sweep with a convincing victory over the Hanwha Eagles.
Led by head coach Hong Won-ki, Kiwoom cruised to a 7-0 victory over Hanwha in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League on Tuesday at Cheongju Baseball Stadium in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak and improved Kiwoom’s record to 28-43 on the season after dropping its previous two games and threatening a sweep.
Starting pitcher Ariel Hourado earned his seventh win of the season after tossing a complete game, seven innings, two-hit shutout with five strikeouts and no walks on 86 pitches. Behind Hurado, Kim Sun-ki and Park Seung-joo took over on the mound, each throwing one scoreless inning to close out the game.
For Kiwoom, who pounded out 13 hits in the long and short order, Lee Jae-sang led the way with three hits, one RBI and one run scored, while Lee Joo-hyung hit the game-winning home run. Kim Hye-seong had three hits and one RBI, Kim Jae-hyun had two RBI, and Song Sung-moon had two hits.
Jang Jae-young, who was called up to the first team for the first time after being converted to a designated hitter and immediately started in center field and the No. 9 spot, also had an uneventful debut, going 1-for-2 with a walk and a hit. After drawing a straight-up walk in his first at-bat against Hanwha starter Moon Dong-joo, Jang doubled in his second at-bat and came home on Lee Joo-hyung’s home run.
After Jang Jae-young led off the third inning with a walk in his first career at-bat, Lee Joo-hyung’s two-run double gave Kiwoom a 2-0 lead, and the team added another run in the top of the fourth. Two batters later, Lee Jae-sang singled to left and Jang Jae-young followed with a double to right, and a throwing error by the right fielder allowed Lee to come home to make it 3-0.
In the top of the sixth, Lee Yong-kyu led off with a single to right, stole second on a sacrifice bunt by Kim Jae-hyun, and scored on Lee 스포츠토토 Jae-sang’s RBI single to center field. In the top of the seventh inning, Moon Dong-joo was relieved and scored three more runs. With runners on first and second against Kim Kyu-yeon, Choi Joo-hwan singled and scored on a wild pitch, and with runners on second and third, Kim Jae-hyun singled to score both runners to make it 7-0 and seal the victory.
After the game, manager Hong Won-ki said, “Hurado pitched like an ace, dominating the opponent for seven innings. He and Kim Jae-hyun were perfect together. On defense, Kim Jae-hyun’s stolen base in the fourth inning and Song Sung-moon’s catch in the fifth kept us in the game.”
“In the offense, Lee Joo-hyung’s two-run homer in the third inning gave us the lead, and Lee Jae-sang’s extra-base hit in the sixth and Kim Jae-hyun’s wedge in the seventh 파워볼게임 decided the game. I would also like to congratulate Lee Yong-gyu on his 2000th game. Jang Jae-young, who made his debut as a hitter, also showed a good performance.” He applauded the batters.
“I would like to thank the fans for coming to Cheongju and supporting us, and we will prepare well for the three-game weekend series starting tomorrow,” added Hong Won-ki. Kiwoom will return home to face the Lotte Giants on the 21st.