In the Korean Baseball Organization, Hanwha Eagles hard-throwing pitcher Moon Dong-ju (21) made the perfect return to the first team, marking the next generation of ace.

On May 12, Moon started a home game against the LG Twins at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, South Korea, and threw 101 pitches over seven innings, allowing just eight hits, three walks, and five strikeouts. It was the third time this season that Moon has walked off the mound without allowing a run in a start, following a five-inning no-hitter against LG Electronics on May 21 and a seven-inning no-hitter against the Samsung Lions last month. His fastball reached a maximum velocity of 160 kilometers per hour as measured by the club’s Trackman.

Moon took a no-hitter into the top of the seventh inning with a 3-0 lead before Hanwha added three runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 6-0 victory. With the win, Hanwha, which was in ninth place before the game, moved back into eighth place, swapping places with the Lotte Giants. Moon Dong-joo picked up his fourth win of the season (6-2). LG, on the other hand, lost its fourth straight game and remained in fourth place.

Moon was dropped from the first-team roster after a poor outing against the Doosan Bears on March 26, when he allowed seven runs in four innings. Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon said at the time, “Moon Dong-ju is a very important player for our team right now. We need him to pitch well if we want to get to where we want to go this season,” said Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon at the time, adding, “We decided to send him to the second team with the hope that he will come back stronger after the All-Star break.”

Moon then spent the next 16 days recuperating and was named back in the first team lineup. “He always has a positive attitude, and he said, ‘I’ll show you something good this time,’ so I’m going to believe him,” Kim chuckled when he announced Moon’s return the previous day (Nov. 11).

Moon showed that confidence on the mound. He allowed runners to reach base in every inning from the first to the fourth, but he calmly turned four consecutive double plays to get out of trouble. In the first inning, he induced a grounder to Austin Dean at second base to end the inning, and in the second inning, he threw out Ik-Hoon Ahn at shortstop-2b-1b in a double play.

In the third inning, he got some crucial defensive help. Moon gave up a single to Sung-ju Moon at 1-3, but Hanwha second baseman Hwang Young-mook made a diving catch to throw out the runner at first base and keep the game scoreless.

Moon Dong-ju, who had a lighter load on his shoulders, induced Moon Bo-kyung to ground out to second base with the bases loaded in the fourth inning and then got Moon Sung-ju to fly out to left field with two outs in the fifth to complete the win. He then ended the sixth inning with his first triple play of the season and took the mound into the seventh for the second time this season.

Moon looked to be in trouble in the top of the seventh when Shin Min-jae led off with an infield single, but he got the next batter, Ahn Ik-hoon, to hit a line drive to third base and then threw out Shin, who never made it back to first base, to complete Hanhwa’s fifth double play. The final batter of the seventh inning, Kim Sung-woo, was retired on a fly ball to right field to complete Moon’s perfect comeback.

The Hanwha bats scored three runs in the first inning to take control of the game. After Hwang Young-mook walked and Jonathan Peraza doubled down the right field line, Ahn Chi-hong 메이저사이트 and Chae Eun-sung followed with back-to-back RBI singles to give Hanwha a 2-0 lead. Two batters later, Lee Jae-won doubled to right-center to extend the lead.

In the seventh inning, after a scoring lull, Hanwha again turned to its veteran trio to settle down. Ahn Chi-hong, Chae Eun-sung (RBI double), and Lee Jae-won each drove in a run with RBI singles to seal the six-run victory. Hwang Young-mook paced the offense with three hits, one walk and two runs scored, while Ahn Chi-hong, Chae Eun-sung and Lee Jae-won combined for two hits and two RBIs.

LG was unable to capitalize on eight hits and three walks as the offense was held scoreless. LG starter Choi Won-tae, who returned to the first team after shaking off a side injury, allowed three runs on five hits and three walks in five innings and suffered his fourth loss of the season (6-6).

Meanwhile, the Samsung Lions opened the ‘War for Second Place’ with a 9-5 victory over the Doosan Bears in Jamsil. The Lions moved to within one game of third-place Doosan and took a commanding 9-1 head-to-head lead. The gap between them and first-place KIA has narrowed back to 4.5 games. Samsung’s veteran slugger Kang Min-ho came to the plate in the eighth inning with a 6-4 lead and hit a two-run shot. The pinch-hit home run was Kang’s 12th of the season and fourth of his career.

Doosan ace Kwak-Bin Kwak suffered his seventh loss of the season after allowing six runs (five earned) in three and one-third innings. Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop was ejected in the eighth inning for protesting a video review. It was the 10th managerial ejection of the season and the third individual ejection.

The SSG Landers used a 10-run third inning to blow out the Gwangju KIA Tigers, 14-6. Leaders KIA saw their six-game winning streak come to an end. KT held on to seventh place with a tight 5-4 win over Lotte in Busan. With the score tied 4-4 in the ninth inning, Mel Rojas Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score the game-winning run.

The NC Dinos defeated the Kiwoom Heroes 9-2 at home in Changwon behind seven shutout innings from foreign ace Kyle Hart. NC foreign-born slugger Matt Davidson, the home run leader, hit his 28th home run of the season to extend his lead over second-place Kim Do-young (KIA-23) to five. Kim Hyung-joon, Park Gun-woo, and Kwon Hee-dong also provided support with home runs.