Game Summary
The KIA Tigers came away with a 6-3 victory over the Hanwha Eagles on Tuesday night at Hanwha Life Eagle Park, improving to 60-50 on the season. What looked like it might be a pitching duel through seven innings quickly unraveled for Hanwha in the late stages, with KIA’s bats finally breaking through against reliever Imin-u in a chaotic ninth inning. Park Jae-hyun delivered the go-ahead hit with runners in scoring position, but the damage had already been done by the time the inning ended. The Eagles, now 49-57, couldn’t mount a meaningful comeback despite an early home run from Roh Si-hwan.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KIA Tigers | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 0 |
| Hanwha Eagles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
Through the first six innings, White of the Eagles had been nearly untouchable. The visiting Tigers managed just five hits off the Hanwha starter, who struck out six and kept the game surprisingly tight. It wasn’t until Castro went deep in the third—a solo shot off White—that KIA even got on the board. The Eagles answered back with Roh’s two-run homer in the seventh off Jeon Sang-hyun, which seemed to give them momentum heading into the final stretch.
But that’s when things fell apart. KIA kept chipping away, and by the time Hanwha cycled through four different relievers in the ninth, the damage was irreversible. Kim Do-young’s three-run blast off Lee Min-u ended any doubt about the outcome, and the Tigers rode that momentum home.
Pitching Performance
Shirakawa was solid for the Tigers through six and a third innings, allowing just two hits while walking two and striking out three. He left the game without allowing an earned run, setting up his bullpen for the save situation. Sung Young-tak (3-1) got the win after pitching a scoreless inning and a third in relief, benefiting from some late-game offensive support. Lee Ui-ri closed it out cleanly with a save, striking out one in a scoreless ninth.
White’s strong outing for Hanwha went for naught. The right-hander worked seven innings, scattered five hits, gave up two runs on one walk, and fanned six. He should have been in line for a quality start, but his team couldn’t provide the run support he deserved. The real issue came in the late innings when Hanwha’s relief corps imploded. Park Sang-won (3-4) took the loss after allowing one run in two-thirds of an inning, but the real culprit was Lee Min-u, who surrendered five runs—including Kim Do-young’s three-run homer—in just one-third of an inning pitched.
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KIA Tigers | ||||||
| Shirakawa | 6 ⅓ | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Kim Beom-su [H] | 0 ⅓ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeon Sang-hyun | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Seong Young-tak [W] | 1 ⅓ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jo Sang-woo | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lee Ui-ri [S] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hanwha Eagles | ||||||
| White | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Jang Yu-ho | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jo Dong-wook | 0 ⅓ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Park Sang-won [L] | 0 ⅔ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Hwang Jun-seo | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Min-woo Lee | 0 ⅓ | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jung Woo-ju | 0 ⅔ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Offensive Highlights
Park Jae-hyun was the engine that kept KIA’s offense moving. The Tigers’ second baseman went 2-for-5 with two RBIs, including a crucial two-out single in the ninth that put runners in scoring position and set the stage for the late-inning explosions. He also doubled in the seventh, showing he could hit for both average and power when given the opportunity.
Kim Do-young provided the knockout blow, his 37th home run of the season coming off Lee Min-u in the ninth. That three-run shot essentially ended the game and capped a productive night for the Tigers’ outfielder, who went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. He also managed to steal a base in the eighth, adding to his value on the night.
Castro contributed a solo homer in the third, his 13th of the year, giving KIA its first run. Roh Si-hwan kept Hanwha in it with his two-run shot in the seventh, his 25th of the season, but it ultimately wasn’t enough given what happened afterward.
| Batter | AB | H | R | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KIA Tigers | |||||
| Park Jae-hyun | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Kim Do-young | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Castro | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Hanwha Eagles | |||||
| No Si-hwan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Key Play
The turning point came in the ninth when Park Jae-hyun slapped a middle-field single with one out and runners on first and second. It wasn’t a spectacular hit—more a textbook contact approach—but it opened the floodgates. What followed was pure offensive chaos: Hanwha cycled through multiple pitchers, walks were issued, and Kim Do-young eventually got his pitch to hit. The Eagles’ inability to navigate that inning cleanly proved fatal.
Standings Impact
With the win, KIA remains fourth in the standings with a 60-50-2 record, staying in contention for a playoff spot. Hanwha, meanwhile, remains well out of the race at 49-57-3, now seven games below the fourth-place Tigers. For a team fighting for relevance down the stretch, this loss stung more because they had the better pitching performance but simply couldn’t execute when it mattered most.