Seoul: Hanwha Eagles starter Moon Dong-ju entered Tuesday's game against the Doosan Bears having received an average of 3.43 runs per game in support from his teammates. The 21-year-old pitcher didn't even need that much help in this one, as he tossed six shutout innings and tied his career high with nine strikeouts in the Eagles' 2-1 win at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the victory stretched the Eagles' winning streak to 10 games, making them only the second team in Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) history with multiple double-digit winning streaks in the same season, alongside the 1985 Samsung Lions. The Eagles, who won 12 straight games from April 26 to May 11, are still sitting pretty in first place at 56-33-2 (wins-losses-ties).

"I tried hard to keep our winning streak alive, and I am so happy to accomplish that goal," said Moon, who said he wasn't aware of the historical implications of the Eagles' run. "That was a huge source of motivation for me."

Roh Si-hwan's solo home run in the second inning provided the only Eagles' run while Moon was in the game, before Sim Woo-jun added an insurance run with a solo shot in the ninth inning. Moon said Roh had told him before the game that he would hit one out for the pitcher. "He's so good at keeping his promises. But he never hits one out when he doesn't tell me," Moon said with a smile. "That early home run helped me stay relaxed."

Moon also received help from his defense, as center fielder Luis Liberato robbed Oh Myeong-jin of an RBI hit in the third inning by going full extension for a diving grab. "That was an insane play, perhaps the top defensive play of the year," Moon marveled. "When the ball left the bat, I just assumed it was going to be a hit, and then I saw Liberato make a run at it. I was like, 'Why is he running so hard?' And then he made the catch. What a crazy play."

Moon threw 104 pitches, 68 for strikes. He offered 48 four-seam fastballs, 28 splitters, 15 curveballs, and 13 sliders. The fireballer touched 158 kilometers per hour (kph) with his fastball and sat at 154 kph with the pitch, nearly 3 kph faster than his average for the season. "For the first time in a while, I felt so great out there, and I got the feeling that my average fastball velocity must be pretty high," Moon said, before being informed of the number. "I should have been throwing this hard from the beginning of the season."

As good as his fastball was, Moon was even deadlier with his splitter. Moon finished five of his nine strikeouts with the splitter, as Bears hitters kept flailing at pitches in the dirt. "Because I threw my fastballs so hard today, I knew the hitters had to try to get their timing on that pitch, and that helped me attack them with my offspeed stuff," Moon said. "I really hope I can pitch like this for the rest of the season."

The Eagles look poised to grab the regular-season crown and advance straight to the Korean Series, where they will try to capture their first title since 1999 -- four years before Moon was born. "I think we've been really fortunate this season," Moon said of his team's season so far. "Whenever we ran into some rough patches, we were prepared to deal with them. That's why luck has been following us. I think we have a great opportunity at hand."