The professional baseball Hanwha Eagles solidified their first-place position with a comeback victory.
Hanwha achieved a comeback victory of 3-1 against the Samsung Lions in an away game held on the 26th at Daegu Samsung Lions Park as part of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League.
Starting pitcher Moon Dong-ju secured his 6th win of the season (2 losses) by allowing 5 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, striking out 4, and giving up 1 run over 5⅔ innings. After 37 days since the match against NC in Ulsan on the 20th of last month, Moon Dong-ju became the winning pitcher after 3 games, achieving his 5th win in 7 career matches against Samsung.
The Hanwha bullpen collaborated for 3⅓ innings of scoreless pitching, maintaining the lead until the end. Closer Kim Seo-hyeon pitched 1⅓ innings, recording his 19th save of the season. On the offensive side, injured replacement foreign player Luis Liberato contributed with a clutch hit to tie the game in the 6th and a double in the 8th, totaling 2 hits in 4 at-bats with 1 RBI, ruining the chances of a win for Samsung's new foreign pitcher, Herson Garavito, in his debut.
Hanwha, seeking redemption after a 2-7 loss to Samsung the previous day (25th), has maintained first place for 12 consecutive days with a record of 44 wins, 30 losses, and 1 tie (winning percentage .595). Samsung stands at 39 wins, 36 losses, and 1 tie (winning percentage .520).
With a starting matchup between Samsung's Garavito and Hanwha's Moon Dong-ju, the game remained scoreless through the 3rd inning until the bottom of the 4th when the balance was broken. Samsung took the lead in the bottom of the 4th with a solo home run by Kang Min-ho. Kang hit a fastball from Moon Dong-ju at 151 km/h for a home run over the left field fence. It traveled 120 meters and marked his 5th home run of the season.
Garavito, who received support with the first run, pitched 5 innings, allowing 1 hit with no walks, striking out 4 and keeping a perfect pitching debut. He threw a total of 62 pitches, featuring a fastball that reached a top speed of 155 km/h (11 pitches), along with a two-seam fastball (17 pitches), slider (15 pitches), changeup (11 pitches), sweeper (7 pitches), and curveball (1 pitch), mixing six different types effectively. His fastball was good, and his changeup and curve against left-handed batters, along with the slider against right-handed batters, were also effective.
Garavito, who met the conditions for a winning pitcher in his debut, saw Samsung's bullpen fail to maintain a 1-run lead. In the top of the 6th, Hanwha's Ha Ju-suk led off with a left-field hit against Samsung's reliever Kim Jae-yoon. Following Choi Jae-hun's sacrifice bunt, Samsung replaced Kim Jae-yoon with Yook Sun-yeob. Although Lee Do-yoon struck out swinging, Lee Jin-young drew a walk, allowing Hanwha to create a 2-out, 1st and 2nd base opportunity, which prompted Samsung to bring in left-hander Bae Chan-seung.
Samsung brought in Bae Chan-seung against left-handed hitter Luis Liberato, but it failed. Liberato made contact with Bae's fourth pitch, a high fastball outside at 153 km/h, resulting in a hit that landed in front of the left fielder. The pinch runner Sim Woo-jun scored to tie the game at 1-1. During the process, Samsung's Koo Ja-wook made a fielding error on the one-bounce hit, allowing 1st base runner Lee Jin-young to advance past 2nd and into home. Liberato sprinted to 3rd base, allowing Hanwha to take the lead at 2-1.
Samsung seized an immediate opportunity in the bottom of the 6th. With 2 outs, Park Byung-ho reached base with a right-field hit, prompting Hanwha to remove Moon Dong-ju from the mound. Kang Min-ho continued the inning with a left-field hit against the new pitcher Park Sang-won, creating a 2-out, 1st and 2nd base opportunity, but Kim Tae-hoon flied out to the right fielder, leaving 2 runners stranded.
In the bottom of the 7th, Samsung's Lee Jae-hyun hit a left-field single and Yang Do-geun followed with a left-center hit, prompting a pitching change from Park Sang-won. Koo Ja-wook earned a walk against the new pitcher Han Seung-hyeok, creating a 2-out, bases loaded opportunity. Here, Lewin Diaz made solid contact with Han Seung-hyeok's first pitch fastball, but Hanwha's second baseman Lee Do-yoon made a spectacular defensive play. A hit that seemed destined to break through the gap between 1st and 2nd turned into a caught-out, as Lee Do-yoon accurately handled the short and hard-hit ball and made a quick throw to 1st base to end the inning, preventing runs and averting the threat.
After the crisis comes the opportunity. Hanwha scored a valuable additional run in the top of the 8th. Against Samsung's reliever Hwang Dong-jae, Choi Jae-hun reached base with a right-field hit, and 1st base pinch runner Yoo Ro-gyeol advanced to 2nd on Hwang Dong-jae's wild pick-off throw. Although Lee Do-yoon struck out, Lee Jin-young connected with a low fastball for a game-winning hit down the right field line, driving in 1 run.
Hanwha starting pitcher Moon Dong-ju recorded his 6th win of the season (2 losses) by pitching 5⅔ innings, allowing 5 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, striking out 4, and giving up 1 run. It's been 37 days since his last win against NC in Ulsan on the 20th of last month, and this victory marks his 6th win of the season after 3 games. He threw a total of 88 pitches, featuring a fastball with a top speed of 158 km/h, averaging 152 km/h, while using a mix of forkballs (19 pitches), curveballs (14 pitches), and sliders (12 pitches). His season ERA dropped from 4.09 to 3.86.
Moon Dong-ju maintained his dominance against Samsung. As of this day, Moon has a 5-1 record in 7 career games against Samsung (6 starts, 35⅔ innings) with an ERA of 1.26 and 39 strikeouts, reaffirming his prowess against them. In the hitter-friendly Daegu 'L-Park', he has a record of 4 wins and no losses in 5 games (28⅔ innings) with an ERA of 0.94 and 30 strikeouts, showing exceptional strength.
Following Moon Dong-ju, Hanwha's bullpen, consisting of Park Sang-won (1 inning, no runs), Han Seung-hyeok (1 inning, no runs), and Kim Seo-hyeon (1⅓ innings, no runs), combined for 3⅓ innings of scoreless pitching to maintain the lead until the end. Park Sang-won recorded his 9th hold of the season, Han Seung-hyeok his 11th hold, and Kim Seo-hyeon his 19th save. Samsung's Yook Sun-yeob gave up the decisive run, resulting in his first loss in his debut. Although Kang Min-ho and Yang Do-geun both recorded multi-hit games with 2 hits each, Samsung's bullpen could not withstand the pressure, leading to another heartbreaking comeback loss.
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