The Hanwha Eagles reclaimed 2nd place, which they lost to the Lotte Giants a day earlier. After exchanging the 2nd place spot throughout the day, the team that laughed last was Hanwha. The winning series they secured while preserving relief pitcher Kim Seo-hyeon, who pitched two consecutive games, was even more meaningful.

Hanwha, led by Kim Kyung-moon, won the home game against Lotte in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon by a score of 8-7. In the 10th inning, with two outs and the bases loaded, Moon Hyun-bin became the hero of the victory by drawing a walk for the winning run. This was the first walk-off game at Daejeon Shin-Kyu Stadium.

Hanwha avenged the 6-8 loss the day before (on the 24th) in extra innings, bringing their season record to 31 wins and 21 losses (win rate .596). By pushing Lotte (30 wins, 21 losses, 3 ties, win rate .588) down to 3rd place, they regained 2nd place. They decorated the three-game series with two wins and one loss after a two-day battle in extra innings.

After a series of trials, Hanwha finally laughed. From the start of the first inning, Estevan Florial opened the scoring with a leadoff home run, and Roh Si-hwan followed it up with a three-run homer, tasting a home run for the first time in 19 games since the 23rd. In the second inning, Ha Ju-suk and Roh Si-hwan both delivered timely hits, pushing the score to 6-0.

Despite the starting pitcher Moon Dong-ju shutting down Lotte's powerful lineup without allowing a run through the fourth inning, things did not go as expected. Lotte scored 6 runs in the fifth inning, combining 5 hits, including 3 doubles, and 2 walks, breaking down Moon Dong-ju.

After allowing a quick 6-6 tie, Hanwha took the lead 7-6 in the sixth inning with Lee Won-seok's single up the middle, a stolen base, and Choi Jae-hun's ground-out that advanced the runner to third base due to a wild pitch by the opposing pitcher Song Jae-young. They maintained the score until there were two outs in the 9th inning, but relief pitcher Han Seung-hyeok, who was brought in during a save situation due to Kim Seo-hyeon's rest after pitching back-to-back games, allowed a game-tying solo home run to Jeon Jun-woo, making it 7-7 again.

In the bottom of the 9th, Hanwha seized a bases-loaded opportunity following Florial's hit, a fielding error by right fielder Yoon Dong-hee, and a sacrifice bunt by Ha Ju-suk while there was one out. Although Chae Eun-seong and Kim Tae-yean both went out with consecutive ground-outs to third, they did not miss the opportunity in the bottom of the 10th.

After one out, Choi Jae-hun drew a walk and Hwang Young-mook hit a single to the right, creating a situation of one out and runners on first and third. Florial grounded out to the pitcher, which led to two outs with runners on second and third, when Ha Ju-suk was hit by a pitch to load the bases again. Moon Hyun-bin then drew a straight walk from Lotte pitcher Park Si-young to score on a push-out. This was the first walk-off at Daejeon Shin-Kyu Stadium and also Moon Hyun-bin's first walk-off.

Starting pitcher Moon Dong-ju allowed 6 runs on 7 hits, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts over 4⅔ innings but the bullpen, consisting of Ju Hyun-sang (1⅓ scoreless innings), Cho Dong-uk (1 scoreless inning), Park Sang-won (1 scoreless inning), Han Seung-hyeok (1 inning, 1 run), and Jeong Woo-joo (1 scoreless inning), combined for 5⅓ innings allowing just 1 run. Although it was a fierce contest for 2nd place, they rested Kim Seo-hyeon, who threw 24 pitches and 15 pitches over 1 inning each in the Lotte series on the 23rd and 24th, winning with the remaining bullpen. In the top of the 10th, after the lead-off batter was hit by a pitch, Jeong Woo-joo, who stopped Jeon Min-jae with a strikeout and Jang Du-seong with a fly ball to left field to prevent runs, earned his 2nd win of the season.

After the game against KIA in Gwangju on the 2nd, Jeong Woo-joo, who won two victories as the last pitcher in the games that went into extra innings, said, “It was a game going back and forth between Lotte and 2nd and 3rd place, so I stepped onto the mound with a little more responsibility. It wasn't burdensome. I thought it was an opportunity and wanted to pitch. Even though I was hit by a pitch from the first pitch, I am satisfied with the good result,” and added, “On days when (Kim) Seo-hyeon is resting, I try harder than usual to focus. I am not a player who can fill in for Seo-hyeon, but I will do my best to contribute to the team.”

In the batting lineup, Roh Si-hwan marked a resurgence with 2 hits and 4 RBIs, including his 11th three-run home run of the season. Florial, Ha Ju-suk, and Moon Hyun-bin also each contributed with 2 hits and 1 RBI. Moon Hyun-bin had a total of 5 plate appearances with 3 walks, including a walk-off push-out. Starting catcher Choi Jae-hun ran the full 10 innings without substitution, recording 2 hits, 1 walk, and reaching base 3 times, helping to break through from the 8th spot in the lineup.

After the game, Hanwha's manager Kim Kyung-moon said, “It was a difficult series, but the players did not give up until the end and focused at every moment, which allowed us to seize victory.” He expressed gratitude for the enthusiastic support of the fans who came to the home ground every day and cheered for the players until the end.

On that day, as of 12:20 p.m., all 17,000 seats at Hanwha Life Eagles Park were sold out. This marked the 25th sellout of the season. Out of the 28 home games in Daejeon, only three games have not been sold out, and since the game against Kiwoom on the 13th of last month, they have set a new record for the most consecutive sellouts with 21 games.

Meanwhile, Hanwha has a scheduled 6-game away series against LG and NC next week.

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