'Scored five runs in the top of the first inning but still lost' Hanwha falls into a nine-game losing streak, 'Ahn Hyun-min hits back-to-back home runs'; KT returns to first place [Suwon]

*This content was translated by AI.

Despite scoring five runs in the top of the first inning, Hanwha could not secure the win. The Hanwha Eagles saw their pitching staff collapse and fell into a nine-game losing streak. Meanwhile, KT Wiz continued their three-game winning streak and reclaimed the first-place position.

On the 3rd, KT defeated Hanwha with a final score of 13-11 in a comeback victory at Suwon KT Wiz Park. With Samsung Lions losing to Lotte on the same day, KT overtook them by half a game and regained the top spot after a week.

The early momentum favored Hanwha. In the top of the first, Hanwha took an early lead with a ground-rule double by Feraza to left-center field off KT starter Ko Young-pyo, followed by Moon Hyun-bin's two-run double to deep center-left. Kang Baek-ho then added a single to left field, and Noh Si-hwan contributed another hit to the center field, extending the lead. With one out and runners on first and second, Kim Tae-yeon crushed Ko Young-pyo's 123 km/h changeup for a three-run home run over the left-field fence (his 12th of the season). Hanwha built a 5-0 lead with five consecutive hits.

However, KT had Ahn Hyun-min. In the bottom of the first with no outs and runners on first and second, Ahn hit a three-run home run over the left-field fence off starter Wang Yencheng. In the bottom of the third with two outs, he followed up with his 12th solo home run of the season to deep center-left. With KT trailing 5-7 in the bottom of the fourth and one out with bases loaded, Ahn drew a bases-loaded walk from Park Sang-won. He finished the game with three hits in four at-bats (two home runs), two walks, and five RBIs, playing a pivotal role.

In the bottom of the fifth with KT trailing 6-7, leadoff hitter Heo Kyung-min singled to left field off reliever Kim Seo-hyun. Then pinch-hitter Jang Jin-hyeok hit a three-run double to deep center-left, tying the game. With one out and runners on first and third, Choi Won-jun hit a sacrifice fly to center field off Jo Dong-wook, giving KT an 8-7 lead. Riding this momentum, KT added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back two-run doubles by Heo Kyung-min and Oh Yun-seok, extending their lead to 10-7.

Ko Young-pyo allowed nine hits (including one home run) and seven earned runs over three innings (67 pitches) before being pulled early. This marked the fewest innings pitched in a season start since June 27 last year against Lotte Giants, when he gave up seven runs in 2⅔ innings — a span of over a year and two months.

After surrendering five runs in the top of the first, Ko gave up one hit and two walks in the second without allowing any runs. However, in the third inning, he allowed consecutive hits to leadoff hitters Noh Si-hwan and Kim Tae-yeon, then surrendered a two-run double to Hwang Young-mok that struck the center-field fence, adding two more runs to the deficit.

KT's bench replaced Ko with Oh Won-seok in relief for the first time this season at the start of the bottom of the fourth, when KT trailed 4-7. Oh pitched three scoreless innings, allowing only two hits, and earned his sixth win (with seven losses) of the season. In the top of the eighth, with two outs and KT leading 13-8, closer Park Young-hyun gave up a three-run home run to pinch-hitter Park Jung-hyun in the top of the ninth with one out but held the lead without further runs allowed to secure the victory.

KT's Woo Kyu-min took the mound in the top of the eighth and reached his 900th career appearance. He becomes only the third pitcher in KBO League history to reach this milestone, following Jung Woo-ram (1,005 games) and Ryu Taek-hyun (901 games), and is the first right-handed pitcher to do so.

Wang Yencheng, who returned to action 16 days after recovering from pneumonia, struggled over 3⅓ innings, allowing six hits, five walks, and five earned runs.

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*This content was translated by AI.