The professional baseball team Lotte Giants secured a winning series against the 'leading' Hanwha Eagles. Hanwha faced a two-game losing streak after a five-game winning streak.
Lotte achieved a nail-biting victory of 4-3 against Hanwha in the regular season game of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held on the 19th at Busan Sajik Stadium. With this, Lotte marked 39 wins, 31 losses, and 3 ties, maintaining its position in third place. Hanwha faced a two-game losing streak after a five-game winning streak. They marked 42 wins, 29 losses, and 1 tie.
Hanwha arranged its starting lineup with Lee Jin-young (right fielder), An Chi-hong (designated hitter), Moon Hyun-bin (left fielder), Roh Si-hwan (third baseman), Chae Eun-seong (first baseman), Lee Do-yoon (shortstop), Hwang Young-mook (second baseman), Choi Jae-hun (catcher), and Lee Won-seok (center fielder). The starting pitcher was Hwang Jun-seo.
Lotte's starting lineup featured Kim Dong-hyeok (center fielder), Go Seung-min (first baseman), Reyes (right fielder), Jeon Jun-woo (left fielder), Jung Hoon (designated hitter), Kim Min-sung (third baseman), Han Tae-yang (second baseman), Park Jae-yeop (catcher), and Jeon Min-jae (shortstop). The starting pitcher was Na Gyun-an.
Lotte capitalized on the opportunity they seized in the first inning. After one out in the first, Go Seung-min's single and a stolen base created a two-out, second base opportunity. Jeon Jun-woo hit a timely double to right center, scoring the first run.
In the second inning, after one out, Han Tae-yang created an opportunity with a double to left field. Park Jae-yeop, the hero of the previous day's game (18th), struck out, but with two outs and a runner on second base, Jeon Min-jae delivered a timely hit to left field, establishing a 2-0 lead.
Hanwha diligently attacked Lotte's mound in an attempt to counter. However, they failed to capitalize on their chances. Lotte's excellent defense thwarted the threats. In the third inning, after one out, Hanwha created a first and second base opportunity with a ground ball single by Roh Si-hwan and a single by Lee Jin-young. However, An Chi-hong's line drive that appeared to be a double was caught by Lotte's third baseman Kim Min-sung on a diving catch. The leading runner at second base was thrown out at third. The continued situation with two outs and runners on first and second ended when Moon Hyun-bin's ground ball to first base was fielded by Lotte's first baseman Go Seung-min.
In the top of the fifth inning, Hanwha encountered another golden opportunity. The lead-off batter Hwang Young-mook got a double to left field, and Choi Jae-hun's walk led to a no-outs, first and second base opportunity. A ground ball by Roh Si-hwan created a one-out, second and third base chance. Lee Jin-young struck out on three pitches. A walk by An Chi-hong maintained a two-outs, loaded bases situation, but Moon Hyun-bin struck out again, bowing his head.
Lotte also seized a chance in the bottom of the fifth. Lead-off batter Jeon Min-jae's single to left, complemented by a sacrifice bunt attempt from Kim Dong-hyeok that turned into an infield hit, led to a no-outs, first and second base opportunity. However, Go Seung-min's sacrifice bunt attempt failed when the runner on second was caught at third, and in the ensuing situation with one out and runners on first and second, Reyes hit into a double play, leaving the score at 2-0.
Lotte's starting pitcher Na Gyun-an overcame a bases-loaded crisis in the fifth, then struck out Roh Si-hwan, caught Chae Eun-seong on a foul fly to the catcher, and got Lee Do-yoon to fly out to center field, recording a perfect inning. He completed six innings with 88 pitches, 4 hits allowed, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts, and no earned runs, seizing his first starting win opportunity of the season.
In the bottom of the sixth, Lotte missed a chance with one out after Jung Hoon's double and Han Tae-yang's walk created a two-outs, first and second base opportunity. However, they didn't let the opportunity slip away in the bottom of the seventh. In the seventh, with two outs, lead-off batter Jeon Min-jae's single to left field and a sacrifice bunt from Kim Dong-hyeok created a one-out, second base opportunity. Go Seung-min's timely double to left center secured the long-awaited additional run. The ensuing situation with one out and a runner on second saw Reyes add a timely single up the middle, pushing the score to 4-0.
However, Hanwha capitalized on a chance when the opposing team made a mistake and closed the gap. In the eighth inning, against Lotte's reliable pitcher Choi Jun-yong, lead-off batter An Chi-hong walked, and Moon Hyun-bin hit a single to left field, creating a no-outs, first and second base opportunity. Subsequently, Roh Si-hwan hit a ground ball to the shortstop, which was on a double play trajectory. However, Lotte's shortstop Jeon Min-jae made a bad throw to second, allowing the ball to roll into the right field foul territory. All runners scored, and Roh Si-hwan also reached third base. The score became 2-4 with a no-outs, third base opportunity. Chae Eun-seong then delivered a timely hit to left field, narrowing the score to 3-4.
However, in the subsequent chance, Choi In-ho struck out, and Hwang Young-mook flew out to the left fielder. Then, during Lee Jae-won's at-bat, first base runner Kim Tae-yean was thrown out attempting to steal second, ending the inning rather futilely.
Hanwha continued to show determination by bringing in closer Kim Seo-hyeon in the eighth inning. In the top of the ninth, lead-off batter Lee Jae-won reached base with a single up the middle, but following a sacrifice bunt from Roh Si-hwan, Lee Jin-young struck out, and An Chi-hong grounded out to the shortstop, failing to score any runs.
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