Hanwha Eagles edge past Lotte Giants in extras to reclaim second in KBO

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Hanwha Eagles edge past Lotte Giants in extras to reclaim second in KBO

Hanwha Eagles pitcher Moon Dong-ju pitches during the KBO game against the Lotte Giants at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon on May 25. [YONHAP]

Hanwha Eagles pitcher Moon Dong-ju pitches during the KBO game against the Lotte Giants at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon on May 25. [YONHAP]

 
The Hanwha Eagles edged out the Lotte Giants 8-7 in extra innings on Sunday to reclaim second place in the KBO standings, capping off a hard-fought three-game weekend series in Daejeon with two wins and one loss.
  
The Eagles walked off with the win in the bottom of the 10th at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark after Moon Hyun-bin drew a bases-loaded walk from Giants pitcher Park Si-young with two outs, sealing the win in dramatic fashion.
 

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The Daejeon club had dropped to third place after losing to the Giants the previous night but bounced back to take the series 2-1. Only half a game separates the two clubs now. 
 
The Giants had tied the game in the top of the ninth when Jeon Jun-woo hit a two-out solo homer off Eagles reliever Kim Beom-su, sending the contest to extra innings.
  
“It was a tough series, but the players stayed focused and never gave up,” Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon said after Sunday's game. “I’m especially grateful to our fans, who filled the stadium again and cheered until the end.”
  
The Eagles set a new club record with their 21st consecutive home sellout, drawing 17,000 fans to their stadium.
 
Fans watch the KBO game between the Hanwha Eagles and Lotte Giants at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon on May 25. [YONHAP]

Fans watch the KBO game between the Hanwha Eagles and Lotte Giants at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon on May 25. [YONHAP]

  
The comeback win also saw Roh Si-hwan snapping out of a prolonged slump.
 
Roh had batted just .111 over his last 10 games with no home runs and only two RBIs, and the Eagles had gone with three wins and seven losses during that stretch.
  
Roh imposed his presence in the first inning, blasting a three-run homer over the right field wall off Giants starter Han Hyun-hee. 
 
It was Roh's 11th home run of the 2025 season and first since May 2. He added an RBI single in the second, finishing with two hits and four RBIs.
  
“It’s encouraging to finally hit a home run again,” Roh said. “I tried to keep my swing light and avoid grounders, and it paid off. I want to carry this momentum and help the team win more games.
 
“I’ve been working on fixing issues during practice. It hasn’t just been frustrating for me, but I’ve felt bad not being able to help the team. I’ll try to bounce back starting next week.”
  
Jeon’s home run made history despite the Giants' loss. It gave him his 1,000th career RBI, making him the 26th player in KBO history to reach the milestone.
 
Over in Daegu, the Samsung Lions beat the Kia Tigers 3-2 on a walk-off solo homer by Lewin Díaz in the bottom of the ninth. 
 
Díaz, who leads the league in home runs, also hit a two-run shot in the first inning, becoming the first player this season to reach 20.
  
Tigers star Kim Do-yeong homered for the fourth straight game — a personal best — but it wasn’t enough to avoid the loss.
  
The KT Wiz blanked the Kiwoom Heroes 2-0 at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul. 
 
Wiz starter So Hyeong-jun threw seven scoreless innings, with closer Park Yeong-hyeon securing his league-leading 17th save. 
 
The Heroes have now lost seven straight games and sit at the bottom of the league table. 
  
The LG Twins, meanwhile, extended their lead at the top with a 9-3 victory over the SSG Landers in Incheon.
 
Austin Dean and Moon Bo-gyeong hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning. Dean has now homered in four straight games and trails only Díaz with 16 on the season.
  
Over at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul, the Doosan Bears held off the NC Dinos 5-3. 


Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY BAE YOUNG-EUN [[email protected]]
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