The explosive rise of the Hanwha Eagles in the professional baseball league has been dampened. With the batting cycle back down, No. 4 hitter Noh Si-hwan (25) is also silent.
With the end of 12 consecutive wins last week, the Hanwha Eagles slowed down to one win and five losses in six games. In six games, the Hanwha Eagles scored three points or less in all, one point, two points, one point, two points, two points, and three points, respectively. They scored 12 points in total, or just two on average. Cody Ponce, who set the record for 18 strikeouts in a single game in KBO history based on regular innings, only won the game 1-0 on the day alone, and lost the remaining five games. The gap widened to two games with No. 1 LG, and the team lost the joint second place to Lotte.
No. 4 hitter Noh Si-hwan was also sluggish last week with a batting average of 182, four hits in 22 at-bats, and a two-run OPS of .535. On the 13th, when he ended his 12th consecutive win, he hit a ground ball in front of the pitcher in the sixth inning against the Doosan Bears in Daejeon and lost the chance with a 1-2-3 double play.메이저놀이터
Not only last week, but also in May, Noh is clearly on the decline. After overcoming sluggish performance in the opening games in March, he showed batting average of 333 (87 hits in 89 at-bats) in 24 games in April, with seven homers, 20 RBIs and an OPS of 1.010, but in May, he had a batting average of 255 (14 hits in 55 at-bats) in 14 games, with one homer and eight RBIs.He has slowed down to 694. He has not hit a homer in 13 games since his 10th homer of the season against KIA in Gwangju on Sunday.
Although he cannot continue to hit well throughout the season, No. 4 hitter Noh Si-hwan is very important in Hanwha, where the batting lineup is weak. Even if it doesn't fit a little, you can tell. The batting pace of No. 5 hitter Chae Eun-seong is also falling, and the good ball is not coming to Noh Si-hwan.
At the match against the Daejeon SSG on Wednesday last week, Ryu`s defense against the third base was also shaky. With runners on the third base with two outs and a third base on the third inning, Cho's grounder to the third base was deflected off Noh's chest, resulting in an infield hit, leading to a run lost. The bound bounced up, but it was front, and it wasn't a hit he couldn't catch. He chose the front or the back, too late. It was a difficult hit, but he was able to catch it with his usual defense capability.
In the eighth inning with two outs, Choi Jeong's backhand catch on the third base line was good, but his throw to the first base went high and he fell backward. Roh Si-hwan's sixth error of the season. After that, Hanwha lost three extra runs due to walks and home runs, losing strength to chase after him.
There seemed to be a physical effect on the day game. Noh is playing in all 46 games of the Hanwha Eagles this year, and he started all of them as a third baseman. Victor Reyes (48 games for Lotte) and Mel Rojas Jr. (47 games for KT) are also on the roster for this season, but he was included as a designated hitter. Noh is the only player who is playing in all games as a starting pitcher. He is the only player in the league who is playing defense.
Of the 411 innings pitched by Hanwha pitchers, Noh kept the third base for 408 innings excluding three. The only player in the league who played more than 400 innings is also Noh. Noh does not want to take rest because he is greedy to play in games and play defense, but days are getting hotter and two months after the season's opening, he must be physically exhausted. No matter how young and strong a player is, he must take care of his physical stamina because the season is long.
Hanwha coach Kim Kyung-moon is also considering the physical arrangement of Noh Si-hwan. Ahead of the doubleheader against the SSG in Daejeon on the 17th, head coach Kim Kyung-moon said, "If you ask (Roh) Si-hwan, he will play all the games no matter what. In more than 40 games, Si-hwan has been defending and attacking, and it is right that it is time to have a little hard time (physically)," adding, "I am thinking of saving Eun-sung this time and giving Si-hwan a rest as a designated hitter next turn. If you get hurt in your greed to win one game and get into the entry, that's more damaging. You have to manage it when it's okay."
Last weekend, Chae Eun-sung, who had a bad leg, entered the designated hitter, and Noh continued to play defense. Since the game was played by the first and third starters, he had to use Noh Si-hwan, who had good defense. Since Chae Eun-seong played as designated hitter in both games of the doubleheader on the 17th and played at-bat as a pinch hitter after being excluded from the season's first starter on the 18th, Noh is expected to have time to take a break from defense as a designated hitter this week. Given the cold reality of Hanwha, which is difficult to beat if Noh does not hit, it is essential to manage his physical strength.
If so, who will see Hanwha's third baseman when Noh Si-hwan enters as the designated hitter. Moon Hyun-bin, who practiced defense at third base before the season, prepared to back up designated hitter and Roh Si-hwan to third base, but is now playing left field. "Moon Hyun-bin has to play in the outfield now. He has to hit hard, but it's okay to go back and forth in defense," coach Kim said. "I'm thinking of using (Ha) Joo-seok as shortstop and (Lee) Do-yoon as third base."