The Hanwha Eagles have ignited their chase for the top spot with a third straight victory, delighting an enthusiastic crowd and breaking attendance records along the way.

On August 13 at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagle Park, Hanwha shut out the Lotte Giants 6-0 in front of a full house, marking their third consecutive win in the KBO League. With league leaders LG Twins’ game rained out, Hanwha has now closed the gap to just 1.5 games behind first place.

Hanwha took command early, exploding for five runs in the bottom of the second inning against Lotte’s newly acquired foreign pitcher Vince Velasquez. Noh Si-hwan started things off with a single to center, and Chae Eun-sung followed with a double to right-center, bringing in the first run. With runners on first and third and one out, Choi Jae-hoon singled up the middle to add another run. With two outs, Son Ah-seop and Luis Liberato delivered back-to-back doubles, driving in three more runs to give Hanwha a 5-0 lead.

In the sixth inning, pinch runner Lee Won-seok—subbed in after Choi Jae-hoon drew a walk—stole second, advanced to third on an opponent’s throwing error, and scored on Son Ah-seop’s infield grounder, extending the lead to 6-0.

Starting pitcher Ryan Weiss was dominant, striking out 11 over six innings while allowing only one hit and five walks without surrendering a run, earning his 13th win of the season (against three losses). Weiss now shares second place in league wins with NC Dinos’ Riley Thompson, trailing only teammate Cody Ponce (15 wins).

In contrast, the Lotte Giants managed just four hits and suffered a second straight shutout loss, extending their losing streak to five games. New pitcher Vince Velasquez struggled, giving up six hits and five runs over three innings, and was charged with the loss.

Off the field, Hanwha celebrated a new milestone in fan attendance. Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagle Park sold out all 17,000-plus seats, achieving its 48th sellout of the season and surpassing last year’s previous record of 47. Of the 54 home games held in Daejeon this season, Hanwha has sold out 48—an 88.9% sellout rate—with seat occupancy reaching an impressive 99.3% (911,661 out of a possible 918,000 seats).

As of August 13, the cumulative attendance reached 911,661, marking the first time in club history that Hanwha has drawn more than 900,000 fans in a single season. The opening of the new stadium combined with the team’s strong performance near the top of the standings has fueled this unprecedented surge in fan turnout.

Note “This article was translated from the original Korean version using AI assistance, and subsequently edited by a native-speaking journalist.”

Photo=Hanwha Eagles, Lotte Giants, Yonhap News