KBO Recap: KT Wiz 13-11 Hanwha Eagles | September 03 Highlights & Scores

Game Summary

In a thrilling back-and-forth affair at Daegu Stadium, the KT Wiz outlasted the Hanwha Eagles 13-11 on Wednesday night to maintain their firm grip on first place. What began as a slugfest quickly turned into a pitching-dominated middle stretch, before both offenses erupted again down the final innings. The Eagles fought hard despite trailing for much of the contest, but couldn’t quite overcome the Wiz’s firepower when it mattered most.

The game saw a combined 11 home runs and plenty of extra-base hits, keeping fans on edge throughout the evening. KT’s balanced attack proved the difference, with multiple contributors stepping up to drive in runs. For Hanwha, it was a performance that showed promise but fell short—a story becoming all too familiar in their September struggles.

Pitching Performance

Neither starter survived the third inning in what became a bullpen-heavy contest. KT’s Go Young-pyo allowed seven runs on nine hits over three innings while striking out five. Hanwha’s Wang Yan-ching was even worse, giving up six earned runs in just 3⅓ innings with five walks and only one strikeout. The Eagles cycled through eight pitchers total, a sign of their desperation to stop the bleeding.

The turning point came when Oh Won-seok entered for KT in the fourth inning. The right-hander was brilliant in his three innings of work, allowing just two hits and zero runs while striking out three. He earned the win despite the brief appearance. On the other side, Kim Seo-hyun took the loss after recording just one out in the fifth inning, surrendering two runs on two hits. Park Young-hyun collected the save for KT, though he didn’t have an easy time of it—giving up three runs in the final 1⅓ innings but holding on when it counted.

Offensive Highlights

Kim Tae-yeon gave the Eagles an early boost with a three-run homer off Go Young-pyo in the first inning, his 12th of the season. That blast seemed to set the tone for an offensive showcase. But An Hyun-min answered immediately for KT, launching a three-run shot of his own in the opening frame. The slugger wasn’t done either—he added a solo blast in the third to give himself two homers and five RBIs before the game was half over.

Roh Si-hwan was a consistent force for Hanwha, going 3-for-5 with a run batted in. Noh Shi-hwan’s bat stayed hot throughout the night. Feraz contributed two hits across three at-bats, and Moon Hyun-bin added two more hits while driving in a run. For KT, beyond An’s stellar night, Oh Yoon-seok went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and Heo Gyeong-min finished 2-for-4. Park Jung-hyun provided late insurance with a three-run home run in the ninth off Park Young-hyun.

Key Play of the Game

The decisive moment came in the fifth inning when Choi Won-jun lifted a sacrifice fly to center field with runners on the corners and one out. That single run proved enormous, as it gave KT a lead they never relinquished. While it wasn’t flashy or dramatic, the context made it pivotal—a perfect execution of situational baseball when the game hung in the balance.

Elsewhere, Jang Jin-hyeok added a triple in the fifth for Hanwha, showing the Eagles’ ability to string together hits when they got their chances. But those moments never quite added up to enough pressure on KT’s relief corps down the stretch.

Standings Impact

This victory keeps the KT Wiz firmly atop the KBO standings at 69 wins, 3 draws, and 43 losses—well ahead of the field with just weeks remaining in the regular season. The Eagles, meanwhile, remain mired in ninth place with a concerning 49-3-65 record. The gap between these two teams has only widened as September wears on, and Wednesday’s loss was another reminder of how far Hanwha still has to go to compete with the league’s elite.