Hanwha avoided the disgrace of being last place for four consecutive years. 

Hanwha won 8-0 in the home game against Lotte in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 14th.

A total of eight pitchers, including starter Felix Peña (3 innings), combined for 9 scoreless innings. In the batting lineup, No. 1 and 2 table setters Choi In-ho and Nick Williams each hit 4 hits. Noh Si-hwan surpassed 100 RBI for the first time in his career. 

Hanwha, which recently broke its six-game losing streak, recorded 57 wins, 79 losses, and 6 draws (a winning percentage of .419), confirming its place in last place regardless of the remaining two games. It finished in last place for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, but secured at least 9th place this year. 

Kiwoom, which ended the season with 58 wins, 83 losses, and 3 draws (a winning percentage of .411) by losing the final game of the season against Munhak SSG the previous day (the 13th), was ranked 10th in the final rankings. Kiwoom ranked last for the first time in 12 years since 2011 (8th place), and this is the first time it has ranked 10th since its founding. 

Noh Si-hwan exceeds 100 RBI, Williams and Choi In-ho explode with 4 hits together

Hanwha took the lead from the start of the first inning. Against Lotte starter Han Hyun-hee, No. 1 Choi In-ho opened the game with a triple to right-center after a 7-pitch match. Williams struck out while looking, but Noh Si-hwan grounded to shortstop to bring runner Choi In-ho home on third base. Noh Si-hwan’s first debut since his 100th RBI of the season. Noh Si-hwan, who added a timely hit in the 8th inning to increase his season tally to 101, solidified his lead in this category.  

Noh Si-hwan, who ranked first with 31 home runs, surpassed 100 RBIs and became the 86th player in KBO League history to have a season with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs. Following Jong-hoon Jang of Binggrae in 1991 (35 home runs, 114 RBI), Jae-hong Park of Hyundai in 1996 (30 home runs, 108 RBI), and Seung-yeop Lee of Samsung in 1997-1999 (32 home runs, 114 RBI, 38 home runs, 102 RBI, and 54 home runs, 123 RBI). He became the fourth player in history to simultaneously achieve 30 home runs and 100 RBIs. 

In the 4th inning, with one out, Lee Jin-young got on base with an infield hit to third base, and then ran home when Moon Hyun-bin hit a double over the center fielder to score an additional run. The initial decision at home was tag out, but it was corrected to safe after a video review. 2-0 lead. 

A home run hit in the 5th inning. After leader Choi In-ho came out with a single to left-center, Williams exploded with a two-run gun in the middle. Han Hyun-hee’s third pitch, a 128km changeup that went to the outside, went over the center fence. Distance 125m, 9th home run of the season. 

Williams had his best performance since his debut in the KBO League with 4 hits and 4 RBIs in 5 at-bats with a timely hit to right field with bases loaded and 2 outs in the 6th inning and a timely hit to left with 2 outs and 1st and 2nd bases in the 8th inning. Choi In-ho also played the role of the number one hitter, having his first 4-hit game in his debut with 4 hits and 2 runs scored in 5 at-bats. Jinyoung Lee also performed well with 2 hits in 4 at-bats, scoring 2 runs, and Hyunbin Moon also went 2 hits in 4 at-bats, 1 RBI, and 2 walks. 

In the aftermath of a 51-minute rain stoppage, 8 pitchers are in the final place in baseball.

Pena, Hanwha’s starter in his final appearance of the season, pitched well in 3 innings, allowing 2 hits, no walks, 3 strikeouts, and no runs. He showed off good condition, using fastballs (28), change-ups (20), and sliders (2) with a maximum speed of 149 km and an average of 147 km, but he was rejected early due to rain. Heavy rain fell before the start of the fourth inning, and the game was suspended for 51 minutes from 5:56 to 6:47 p.m. 메이저놀이터

After the game resumed, he returned to the mound, but after throwing a slow fastball to Dong-hee Yoon on the first pitch, he hit a left-field hit and went down. This was to protect the pitcher due to the suspension of the game. The game could have been disrupted as the bullpen was started earlier than scheduled due to rain, but the bullpen showed stability. 

Seven relief pitchers pitched 6 innings: Jang Si-hwan (⅓ inning), Kim Beom-soo (⅔ inning), Yoon Dae-kyung (1 inning), Lee Min-woo (⅓ inning), Joo Hyeon-sang (1⅔ inning), Kim Gyu-yeon (1 inning), and Jang Min-jae (1 inning). They combined to score no runs. A total of eight pitchers, including Peña, tied up Lotte’s batting lineup by producing a scoreless game with swarm baseball. 

Lotte starter Han Hyun-hee suffered her 12th loss (6 wins) of the season with 6 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, and 4 runs in 5 innings. 7th place Lotte, which suffered two consecutive losses, recorded 67 wins and 75 losses (a winning percentage of .472).