Hanwha Eagles extend winning streak to 12 games with heavy win over Kiwoom Heroes

The Hanwha Eagles extended their winning streak to 12 games on Sunday with an 8-0 rout of the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul, retaining their frontrunner spot with a 20-2 record over their last 22 games.

The Hanwha Eagles celebrate after beating the Kiwoom Heroes 8-0 at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on May 11. [NEWS1]

The Hanwha Eagles extended their winning streak to 12 games on Sunday with an 8-0 rout of the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul, retaining their frontrunner spot with a 20-2 record over their last 22 games.

The Eagles have not lost a game since April 26. This is the Eagles’ longest winning streak since 1992, when the team, then known as the Binggrae Eagles, won 12 consecutive games from May 12 to 23.

That run eventually grew to 14, still the club's longest. It has been exactly 12,041 days since that previous 12-game streak.

The Eagles can set a new historic record through a three-game home series against the Doosan Bears in Daejeon starting Monday.

The team’s resurgence has also fueled ticket sales. Sunday's game at Gocheok Sky Dome was a sellout, with all 16,000 seats filled.

The Eagles have now sold out 14 consecutive games, tying the KBO record set by the Kia Tigers in September 2024.

The current streak began on April 24 in Busan against the Lotte Giants and includes sold-out games against the KT Wiz from April 25 to 27, the LG Twins from April 29 to 30, the Tigers on May 2 and 4, the Samsung Lions from May 5 to 7 and the Heroes from May 9 to 11.

The Heroes, which play their home games at Gocheok, recorded their first seven-game sellout streak — largely thanks to playing the Eagles.

The weekend sweep in western Seoul marked a symbolic return to glory for the Eagles.

They won their 10th straight game on Friday for the first time since 1999, before making it 11 wins and reginiting memories of the Binggrae days.

Playing indoors at Gocheok meant the team avoided rainouts and doubleheaders, an added stroke of good fortune.

Fans watch a KBO game between the Hanwha Eagles and Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on May 11. [YONHAP]

Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon credited the team’s veterans and said the players were riding a wave of good momentum.

“Our veterans have led the clubhouse well, and everyone has been playing their part,” Kim said before Sunday's game. “We know a rough patch will come eventually, but we’re just focused on finishing each game.”

Right-hander Ryan Weiss continued the Eagles’ run of dominant starting pitching with eight shutout innings, giving up just one hit and striking out multiple batters.

His fastball reached up to 156 kilometers per hour (97 miles per hour). He allowed a single in the first inning to Choi Joo-hwan but retired the side in order in five of the next seven innings, issuing only two walks.

“Thanks to Weiss’s stellar pitching, we were able to control the game from early on,” Kim said after the game. “He gave the team exactly what we needed.”

Weiss, who threw 93 pitches, said he wanted to pitch the ninth but respected his manager’s decision.

The offense was equally steady. The Eagles scored first in the third inning on a throwing error by the catcher, added two more in the fifth on a wild pitch and a timely hit from Noh Si-hwan and tacked on runs in the sixth with a solo homer from Lee Jin-young and an RBI single from Lee Do-yoon. They capped the game with three more in the ninth.

The Twins, meanwhile, kept pace in the standings with a 7-4 comeback win over the Lions in Daegu.

The Twins have now won three in a row, including a doubleheader sweep on Saturday. The Lions, on the other hand, dropped their eighth straight game.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY BAE YOUNG-EUN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]