The Lotte Giants, shining with the best team batting average, broke through the shield of the Hanwha Eagles, who hold the top earned run average. Son Ho-young led Lotte to a comeback victory, achieving his debut game with five hits, including a game-winning hit in the 10th inning.
Lotte won the away game against Hanwha in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League, which was held at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 24th, with a score of 8-6.
Although they were behind 3-6 until the 6th inning, they equalized with three runs in the 7th, and Son Ho-young's game-winning hit in the 10th inning broke down the Hanwha mound. Closer Kim Won-jung pitched two scoreless innings from the 9th to the 10th to earn the win.
Lotte avenged the 2-4 comeback loss to Hanwha the previous day (the 23rd) and marked their season record at 30 wins, 20 losses, and 3 ties (winning percentage .600), pushing Hanwha (30 wins, 21 losses, winning percentage .588) back to 3rd place and reclaiming 2nd place alone within a day.
The early game atmosphere favored Lotte. In the 2nd inning against Ryu Hyun-jin, Jeon Jun-woo reached on a single, then Yoon Dong-hee followed with a single to set up first and third with no outs. Both targeted Ryu Hyun-jin's outside pitches to gather runners. Although Na Seung-yeop made contact on the first pitch but was out in a double play, third-base runner Jeon Jun-woo scored, giving Lotte an early lead.
In the 3rd inning, Lotte added two more runs. With Yoo Kang-nam walking and Son Ho-young hitting a single to left, Go Seung-min connected a timely hit off Ryu Hyun-jin's high outside cutter with one out and runners on first and second. Continuing with one out and runners on first and second, Víctor Reyes also connected on Ryu Hyun-jin's cutter, hitting a hard ground ball towards third base. As Hanwha's third baseman Roh Si-hwan struggled to catch a tricky ball that passed in front of the left fielder, Lotte added another run. They led 3-0.
However, Hanwha quickly equalized in the bottom of the 3rd inning by targeting Lotte starter Tucker Davidson. After Choi Jae-hun drew a walk and Lee Do-yoon hit a single, they created an opportunity with no outs and runners on first and second. Although Florial struck out swinging, Ha Ju-suk delivered a timely hit to right. During this, Lotte right fielder Yoon Dong-hee's home throw went to the third dugout, allowing second-base runner Lee Do-yoon to advance home safely. Ha Ju-suk advanced to third base, and in the ensuing opportunity, Moon Hyun-bin delivered a timely hit to right, quickly making it 3-3.
In the bottom of the 5th, Hanwha seized the momentum with two home runs. Florial, leading off, exploded with a solo home run to right-center. He pulled a fastball at 143 km/h high in the middle of Davidson's second pitch. The ball traveled 125 meters, marking Florial's 5th home run of the season, giving Hanwha its first lead of the game.
In the continued offense in the bottom of the 5th, Hanwha had two outs when Roh Si-hwan reached on a hit to left-center, followed by Chae Eun-seong's two-run homer over the left field fence. He pulled a fastball at 146 km/h that entered high and outside on the 5th pitch, clearing the left wall. The ball traveled 115 meters. Chae Eun-seong, who had 2 hits and 2 RBIs in 3 at-bats, hit 3 home runs in 5 games just this week. Lotte starter Davidson allowed his most runs of the season, pitching 5 innings with 8 hits (2 home runs), 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch, striking out 6 batters, and allowing 6 runs (4 earned).
Ryu Hyun-jin pitched 5 innings, allowing 7 hits, 1 walk, and 3 earned runs before leaving the game, but the Hanwha bullpen allowed 3 runs in the 7th, failing to qualify for the win. In the 7th, setup man Park Sang-won hit Yoo Kang-nam with a pitch as the leadoff batter, then allowed a double to Son Ho-young, leaving runners on second and third with no outs before he was pulled. Lefty Kim Beom-su came in but allowed a two-RBI single to Jang Du-seong. In this process, center fielder Florial made an error dropping the ball, allowing Jang Du-seong to advance an additional base to second.
With Go Seung-min's infield single to first, they had no outs with runners on first and third. Kim Beom-su induced a swinging strikeout from Reyes, allowing Hanwha to breathe a sigh of relief. However, Hanwha's setup man Han Seung-hyeok was brought in, but Lotte managed to tie the game. A hit from Jeon Jun-woo, which was tipped off the end of the bat, rolled close to the first base foul line, and as Han Seung-hyeok struggled to make a throw to first, third-base runner Jang Du-seong crossed home plate to tie it at 6-6. This was the moment Ryu Hyun-jin's win slipped away.
The tense bullpen battle did not end with the 9th regular inning. Hanwha's Han Seung-hyeok, brought in the 7th, pitched 1⅔ innings allowing only 1 hit and 1 walk with 3 strikeouts, keeping a clean sheet through the 8th. In the 9th, closer Kim Seo-hyeon allowed one hit by pitch but maintained a scoreless inning with 1 strikeout. Lotte, which activated its bullpen from the 6th, saw Kim Sang-su (⅓ inning), Song Jae-young (⅔ inning), Jeong Hyeon-su (⅓ inning), Choi Jun-yong (1 inning), and Jeong Cheol-won (⅔ inning) combined for scoreless innings before closer Kim Won-jung also held them without scoring, taking the game to extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, Lotte scored the game-winning point. Against Hanwha's Kim Jong-soo, leadoff batter Na Seung-yeop hit a single, then advanced to second base due to a balk. Jeon Min-jae, executing a sacrifice bunt, drew a walk after a 9-pitch battle, leading to 1 out with runners on second and third from Yoo Kang-nam's sacrifice bunt. Son Ho-young connected on Kim Jong-soo's 4th pitch, a high fastball, delivering a two-RBI single. It was the game-winning hit of the day. Son Ho-young, who exploded with 5 hits and 2 RBIs, became the hero of the comeback victory in his debut game.
Kim Won-jung held the mound without allowing any runs through 2 innings in the 10th, earning his 2nd win of the season. With one out and a runner on first in the bottom of the 10th, he induced a double play from Hanwha's rookie pinch hitter Lee Min-jae, ending the game. He pitched 2 innings, allowing 2 hits with no walks and striking out 3, maintaining a clean sheet with 35 pitches. Lotte's bullpen, including Kim Won-jung, combined for 5 innings of scoreless ball to set the stage for the comeback victory. Hanwha used 7 bullpen pitchers, but they could not overcome the last hurdle. Kim Jong-soo, who allowed 2 runs in ⅓ inning, suffered his 4th loss of the season (1 win).
Meanwhile, all 17,000 seats at Hanwha were sold out as of 12:25 p.m. on this day. It was the 24th sellout of the season. Among the 27 home games in Daejeon, except for 3 games, the stadium has been packed with a full house. Since the game against Kiwoom on the 13th of last month, the team has achieved 20 consecutive sellouts over the last 20 games, extending the record for consecutive home game sellouts in KBO history. Hanwha previously held the record with 17 consecutive home sellouts over the 2023-2024 seasons.
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