Wang Yancheng Tied for Most Wins as Hanwa Defeats Lotte in Comeback

Hanwha Eagles Asian-quota pitcher Wang Yancheng has risen to a tie for the most wins in professional baseball.

Pitching in the home game against the Lotte Giants for the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League held at Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon today (July 29), Wang allowed two runs on seven hits with two strikeouts over seven innings.

As Hanwha secured a 5-3 victory, Wang claimed his ninth win of the season (four losses), joining Lim Chan-kyu, Anders Tolhurst (both of the LG Twins), Adam Oller (KIA Tigers), and Gwak Been and Choi Min-seok (both of the Doosan Bears) in a tie for first place in wins.

Lotte scored the game's first run in the top of the first inning after consecutive hits by Hwang Seong-bin and Go Seung-min, followed by Victor Reyes grounding into a double play.

Han Dong-hee then hit a solo home run to give Lotte a 2-0 lead.

Hanwha pulled within a run in the bottom of the third with an RBI single by Lee Won-seok, and tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth when Kim Tae-yeon launched a solo home run over the left field wall.

In the sixth inning, Kim Tae-yeon hit a double to right field and scored on a subsequent groundout to give Hanwha a 3-2 lead. Hanwha then extended its lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh with consecutive doubles by Chae Eun-seong and Heo In-seo, followed by a sacrifice fly from Lee Do-yoon.

Lotte clawed back a run in the top of the eighth with an RBI single by Go Seung-min, but failed to turn the game around again.

Hanwha's Kim Tae-yeon put on a stellar performance, going 4-for-4 at the plate.

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