The Hanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) have moved to the top of the standings with a six-game winning streak. The Kiwoom Heroes escaped their opening four-game losing streak, while the Samsung Lions fell into a four-game losing streak.
Hanwha won its 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League home game against the KT Wiz 8-5 on Tuesday at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon. After losing their opening game against the LG Twins, the team has won six straight games to move to within one game of the Kia Tigers (4-1) atop the standings.
Hanwha broke the game open in the bottom of the third inning with a solo home run to left by Jonathan Peraza, then followed with an RBI double by Roh Si-hwan and a two-run homer to left by Ahn Chi-hong. They added a run in the fourth on a triple to right by Jung Eun-won and a sacrifice fly by Moon Hyun-bin.
After KT cut the deficit in half in the top of the fifth with a two-run homer by Choi Jae-dae, Hanwha answered with a triple by Lim Jong-chan and an RBI single to right by Ha Ju-seok. With runners on first and second in the seventh inning, Moon Hyun-bin hit a two-run double to make it 8-3. Despite a two-run ninth inning, Hanwha held on for the win.
Hanwha’s Peña pitched five innings, allowing two runs (two earned) on three hits and striking out six to earn the win. His second win of the season. KT’s Uhm Sang-baek suffered his second loss, allowing four runs (four earned) on four hits and two walks in three innings. KT dropped to last place with a 1-6 record.
The Doosan Bears handed KIA its first loss at home at Jamsil Stadium after opening with a four-game winning streak.
Doosan took the lead in the second inning when Kang Seung-ho hit a two-run shot to left off KIA starter Will Crowe and added a run in the third. In the fifth inning, with runners on first and second, Kim Jae-hwan singled up the middle to plate Crowe.
Kang Seung-ho hit a back-to-back home run off Kim Dae-yoo in the seventh inning, and Doosan eventually swept KIA 8-0 to win their fourth game in a row. 5th place. KIA dropped to second place with its first loss after four straight wins.
Doosan starter Brandon Waddell earned his second win of the season with a six-hit, six-strikeout shutout, while Crowe took the loss after allowing five runs in four and one-third innings.
Kiwoom, which had lost four straight games to open the season, earned its first win of the season with an 8-3 victory over LG at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. They also moved up to eighth in the standings.
After Choi Joo-hwan and Lee Hyung-jong broke the game open with doubles in the second inning, Kiwoom scored three runs on a Kim Hwi-jip single and a wild pitch by LG starter Lim Chan-kyu. They added three more runs in the third on a sacrifice fly by Lee Won-seok and a two-RBI double by Kim Hwijip.
LG scored solo home runs by Kim Hyun-soo, Hong Chang-ki, and Park Dong-won in the sixth, eighth, and ninth innings, respectively, but Kiwoom added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth to seal the win.
Kiwoom starter Ha Young-min earned the win with five innings of two-hit ball. It was the first time in 3,111 days since September 2015 when he won a start against the SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) as a herder. Meanwhile, Lim suffered his second loss of the season after giving up six runs (five earned) on seven hits in five innings.
The NC Dinos swept the Lotte Giants 8-0 at Sajik Stadium in 토토 Busan. Starting with Park Min-woo in the first inning, NC scored three runs on five consecutive hits to take an early lead, adding a run in the third and four more in the fourth.
NC starter Shin Min-hyuk earned the win with six innings of five-hit, six-strikeout ball, while Lotte’s Park Se-woong was tagged for eight runs (five earned) on nine hits in three and one-third innings. NC is now 4-2 and third in the league, while Lotte is 1-5 and ninth.
SSG won 9-6 against Samsung in a wild game that saw the teams exchange 23 hits. SSG extended its winning streak to two games, while Samsung snapped a four-game losing streak.
SSG scored a run in the third inning on two infield hits and two walks, and then scored five runs on four straight hits with the bases loaded to take a 6-0 lead.
Samsung tried to chip away at the deficit with two runs in the third and one each in the fourth and fifth innings, but SSG regained the lead in the sixth inning on a two-run single by Ha Jae-hoon.
Samsung scored single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to spark a comeback, but SSG added one more run in the ninth inning to secure the 9-6 victory.
SSG starter Elias earned the win with six innings, eight hits, four runs (two earned), and nine strikeouts. Moon Seung-won pitched a scoreless first inning to earn his third save. Samsung starter Reyes was tagged for six runs (six earned) on eight hits in two and two-thirds innings.