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Eagles outlast Lions to open KBO postseason series

Published: 19 Oct. 2025, 14:34

Hanwha Eagles captain Chae Eun-seong cheers after hitting a go-ahead double with two outs and runners on second and third in the bottom of the sixth inning during Game 1 of the second round of the 2025 KBO playoffs against the Samsung Lions at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon on Oct. 18. [NEWS1]

Captain Chae Eun-seong delivered a go-ahead two-run single as part of his three-RBI day and young starter Moon Dong-ju fired two dominant innings in relief as the Hanwha Eagles defeated the Samsung Lions 9-8 to begin their KBO postseason series at home Saturday.

Moon Hyun-bin also contributed three RBIs for the Eagles, who pounded out 15 hits to emerge victorious from a back-and-forth battle before a sellout crowd of 16,750 fans at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon.

Game 2 of this best-of-five series is also in Daejeon at 2 p.m. Sunday.

What was billed as a battle of aces between Cody Ponce for the Eagles and Gerson Garabito for the Lions unexpectedly turned into a slugfest early.

The Lions drew first blood in the top of the second inning by stringing together three straight hits, the third being Lee Jae-hyeon's two-run double to right-center field.

Lee took third when right fielder Kim Tae-yean's throw back into the infield went off line, and two batters later, Kang Min-ho's sacrifice fly scored Lee for a 3-0 Lions lead.

But the Eagles erased that deficit in the bottom of the second, putting up a five-spot with two outs.

With runners at second and third, Son Ah-seop hit a dribbler toward the third base side of the mound. Garabito picked up the ball, but instead of throwing to first as catcher Kang Min-ho instructed him to do, the pitcher made a high toss back to Kang. Lead runner Kim Tae-yean was able to slide home safely, just ahead of Kang's tag.

Hanwha Eagles outfielder Son Ah-seop celebrates after hitting a game-tying RBI double with no outs and a runner on second in the bottom of the sixth inning during Game 1 of the second round of the 2025 KBO playoffs against the Samsung Lions at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon on Oct. 18. [NEWS1]

Things unraveled for Garabito from there. The right-hander walked Luis Liberato to load the bases, and Moon Hyun-bin cleared the bases with a double off the right-field wall to put the Eagles up 4-3.

Roh Si-hwan then singled Moon home for a 5-3 lead, the Eagles' fifth hit of that inning alone.

But that lead didn't last long, either, as the Lions scored twice in the top third.

After two straight singles began the rally, Koo Ja-wook brought home Kim Ji-chan with a sacrifice fly. Then Kim Young-woong's two-out single to deep right field corner cashed in Kim Seong-yoon, who had singled and stolen second to get himself into scoring position.

The Lions reclaimed their lead in the top fourth, as Kim Tae-hoon turned on a first-pitch fastball from Ponce and sent it over the right-field wall for a go-ahead solo home run.

The Eagles punched back to retake the lead by scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth.

After Sim Woo-jun's leadoff double, reliever Yang Chang-seop had the count at 1-2 on Son Ah-seop before the Lions pulled him for left-hander Bae Chan-seung.

Son, who bats left-handed, fouled off a couple of pitches before lining a double to deep center field to drive in the tying run.

Liberato's double had the runners at second and third with nobody out. Right-hander Lee Ho-sung came out of the bullpen to strike out the next two batters, but he couldn't get past Chae Eun-seong, who dropped a two-run single for an 8-6 Eagles lead.

The Eagles summoned No. 4 starter Moon Dong-ju from the bullpen to begin the top of the seventh. In his first postseason game, the fireballer pumped one fastball after another by helpless Lions hitters. He touched 161.6 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour) while striking out two batters in the seventh, the hardest pitch thrown in the KBO this year.

Moon struck out two more in the top eighth, and then Chae gave the Eagles a 9-6 cushion with a single in the bottom half of that inning.

The Lions made things a little too close for the Eagles' comfort, as they scored twice off closer Kim Seo-hyeon thanks to Lee Jae-hyeon's solo homer and Lee Sung-gyu's pinch-hit single. But reliever Kim Beom-su put out the fire to preserve the narrow victory.

Ponce was credited with the win and tied the postseason record for most runs allowed by a winning pitcher with six.

Hanwha Eagles pitcher Cody Ponce reacts during Game 1 of the second round of the 2025 KBO playoffs against the Samsung Lions at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon on Oct. 18. [NEWS1]

The Eagles will have another American starter on the mound in Game 2 in Ryan Weiss.

In the regular season, his first full campaign after joining the Eagles in the middle of 2024, Weiss went 16-5, while ranking sixth with a 2.87 ERA and fourth with 207 strikeouts.

Weiss had some trouble against the Lions, going 2-3 with a 4.05 ERA in 26 2/3 innings while serving up four homers — more than against any other opponent.

Park Byung-ho went deep twice and also had a double off Weiss during the regular season, but has only logged two at-bats so far this postseason. Among the regulars, third baseman Kim Young-woong batted 4-for-8 with a homer against Weiss.

The Lions will turn to right-hander Choi Won-tae on nine days' rest.

Samsung Lions pitcher Choi Won-tae pitches during Game 1 of the second round of the 2025 KBO playoffs against SSG Landers at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Oct. 9. [YONHAP]

Choi only had a 4.92 ERA and an 8-7 record this season, his first with the Lions. But the 28-year-old shone in Game 1 of the previous series against the SSG Landers on Oct. 9, when he fired six shutout innings of two-hit ball and struck out eight in a 5-2 Lions win. Choi had an 11.16 ERA in 18 previous postseason games and had never gone more than four innings in any of them.

Choi lost both of his regular-season starts against the Eagles this year and had a 4.05 ERA in 13 1/3 innings against them.

Luis Liberato, Moon Hyun-bin and Roh Si-hwan, who typically bats second, third and cleanup for the Eagles, each homered off Choi.

Yonhap