Hanwha Leaps to 4th Place Behind Wins Leader Ryu Hyun-jin; Samsung Snaps 3-Game Skid

The Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League have climbed to fourth place, pushing the KIA Tigers down to fifth.

In their 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark, the Eagles defeated the Tigers 5-1, powered by a brilliant pitching performance from Ryu Hyun-jin.

With a winning percentage of .533, Hanwha edged KIA by .001 to rise one spot from fifth.

Ryu showcased near-perfect control of his speed, holding the KIA lineup to just one run to secure his sixth consecutive victory and eighth win of the season (8-2), taking the sole lead in wins.

Ryu allowed seven hits over six innings but struck out five at critical moments to blunt KIA's attack.

After giving up a run on a two-out, left-field line double to Aderlin Rodriguez with runners on first and third in the first inning, Ryu escaped further trouble by getting Han Jun-su to ground out with runners on second and third.

Ryu retired the subsequent batters in both the second inning (one out, runners on first and second) and the fifth inning (one out, runner on second). He capped off his stellar crisis management in the sixth inning with runners on first and third and one out, inducing a 5-4-3 double play from Byeon Woo-hyeok.

Hanwha secured the victory despite recording only six hits—fewer than KIA—thanks to a concentrated offensive burst in the fourth inning.

Tied 1-1 in the fourth with one out and runners on second and third, Lee Do-yun hit an RBI single to left to put Hanwha ahead 2-1.

Then, during Lee's steal of second base, Noh Si-hwan, who was on third, caught KIA off guard by stealing home on a delayed double steal.

Lee also scored on Choi Jae-hoon's RBI single, tilting the momentum heavily in Hanwha's favor.

Lee sealed the win in the eighth inning with another RBI single to left, extending the lead to 5-1.

KIA's Adam Oller, who had been tied with Ryu for the league lead in wins until the previous day, struggled with his control, allowing four hits, four walks/hit-by-pitches, and four runs to take the loss.

The league-leading LG Twins crushed the SSG Landers 15-1 at Jamsil, leaving them just one win away from becoming the first team to reach 40 wins this season.

LG seized control in the first inning, scoring five runs highlighted by Song Chan-eui's three-run double to left-center. The Twins added five more runs in the fourth, led by Austin Dean's three-run double, forcing SSG to surrender.

Batting sixth and playing left field, Song Chan-eui hit four doubles—in the first, fourth, sixth, and eighth innings, with his only blemish being a strikeout in the third—tying the KBO single-game record for most doubles.

Song paced the offense with a stellar 4-for-5 performance and five RBIs, while Austin followed closely with three hits and three RBIs.

LG battered the SSG pitching staff on Thursday, racking up 16 hits, including seven doubles.

The Samsung Lions snapped their three-game losing streak with a commanding 8-1 road victory over the KT Wiz in Suwon.

The gap between third-place Samsung and second-place KT narrowed back down to 1.5 games.

Starting pitcher Jack O'Loughlin delivered a dominant performance, holding the KT lineup to just one hit while striking out three over six scoreless innings.

KT's Koki Sugimoto, making his first start of the season after pitching in relief, pitched respectably by allowing three runs over five innings, but received no run support.

Samsung opened the scoring in the second inning. With the bases loaded and two outs following two hits and a hit-by-pitch, Kim Ji-chan hit a two-run single to right-center.

In the third, Koo Ja-wook hit a single to center and advanced base by base on a wild pitch by Sugimoto, a flyout, and a groundout to score an additional run.

Leading 3-0 in the sixth, Samsung sealed the win by adding three runs on consecutive hits from Kim Seong-yoon, Kim Do-hwan, and Kim Sang-joon.

KT avoided a shutout in the bottom of the ninth with a two-out double by pinch-hitter Kwon Dong-jin.

The NC Dinos edged the Kiwoom Heroes 3-2 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.

Kiwoom took a 2-0 lead in the second inning, combining Kim Woong-bin's double and Kwon Hyeok-bin's RBI single for one run, followed by Kim Gun-hee's RBI single to center.

NC pulled one back in the third on Matt Davidson's RBI single to left and tied the game 2-2 in the seventh with a sacrifice fly by Park Min-woo.

The game-winning run came in the ninth.

Following consecutive hits by Choi Jeong-won and Kim Ju-won, Cheon Jae-hwan hit a sacrifice fly to seal the comeback victory.

At Sajik Stadium in Busan, the Doosan Bears defeated the Lotte Giants 12-7 in a high-scoring slugfest that featured a combined 28 hits.

After Doosan took a 4-2 lead through the fourth inning, aided by Lee Yu-chan's inside-the-park home run, Lotte turned the tables to lead 6-4, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth on Victor Reyes' two-run triple and adding a solo home run by Son Ho-young in the bottom of the fifth.

However, Doosan reclaimed the lead in the sixth. Capitalizing on a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity, they scored five runs on consecutive hits from Daz Cameron, Kim Min-seok, and Yang Eui-ji. Leading 9-7 in the top of the ninth, Doosan pulled away with Yang's solo home run over the left field wall and Lee Yu-chan's two-run single to right.

Cameron drove in four runs, while Yang and Lee collected three RBIs each.

(Photo courtesy of Hanwha Eagles, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.