Eagles defeat Heroes for 3rd straight win in KBO

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Eagles defeat Heroes for 3rd straight win in KBO

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, May 12 (Yonhap) -- Roh Si-hwan slugged a first-inning grand slam and drove in five runs, while cleanup Kang Baek-ho also homered as part of his three-hit night, as the Hanwha Eagles defeated the Kiwoom Heroes 11-5 on the road Tuesday.

With the resounding win at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, the Eagles extended their winning streak to a season-best three games in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and improved to 17-20-0 (wins-losses-ties). The Heroes, stuck in last place, fell to 13-24-1.

Eagles starter Ryu Hyun-jin gave up three runs on five hits but struck out nine in five innings to improve to 4-2 for the season. His ERA went up from 3.25 to 3.51.

Roh had a brief stint in the minor league in mid-April amid an early-season slump. He was batting only .145 with zero home run and three RBIs through 13 games when he was demoted April 13.

Roh Si-hwan of the Hanwha Eagles rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam against the Kiwoom Heroes during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on May 12, 2026. (Yonhap)

Roh homered in his first game back in the KBO on April 23. He has really caught fire in May, with six home runs and 15 RBIs in 10 games so far this month, along with a .364 batting average.

The Eagles jumped on Heroes starter and former Eagles prospect Bae Dong-hyun right from the top of the first inning.

Bae plunked leadoff man Hwang Young-mook and then gave up a single and a walk to load the bases for Roh. Roh then ambushed a first-pitch fastball and sent it 135 meters into the seats in center field for his third career grand slam.

Choi Jae-hoon added a sacrifice fly to put the Eagles up 5-0.

Kang Baek-ho pushed that lead to 6-0 with an RBI double in the second inning. Then Kang's RBI single and Roh's run-scoring double in the fourth inning made it an 8-0 game in favor of the Eagles.

Roh's hit, the fourth straight by the Eagles to open that frame, knocked Bae out of the game. The right-hander had given up nine earned runs in 34 2/3 innings for a 2.34 ERA prior to Tuesday but was charged with eight earned runs in only three innings in this game to see his ERA jump to 4.06.

Kang Baek-ho of the Hanwha Eagles celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the Kiwoom Heroes during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on May 12, 2026. (Yonhap)

Bae's counterpart, Ryu Hyun-jin, put up zeroes for the first three innings, before Trenton Brooks put the Heroes on the board with a sacrifice fly in the bottom fourth.

Then in the bottom fifth, the Heroes made it an 8-3 game thanks to An Chi-hong's two-out, two-run single.

But then Kang pulled the Eagles further ahead with a solo home run in the top sixth.

That homer, Kang's team-leading eighth of the season, put Kang a triple away from a cycle, but the slugger drew a walk in his final plate appearance in the eighth inning before being lifted for a pinch runner.

The Heroes eked out only one run after loading the bases with two outs in the bottom sixth, before the Eagles tacked on a run in the top eighth on a wild pitch by reliever Kim Dong-kyu.

The Heroes got another run back in the bottom eighth with a sacrifice fly but Moon Hyun-bin rounded out the scoring for the Eagles with an RBI single in the top ninth.

The Eagles pounded out 17 hits, their fourth straight game with more than 10 hits. They have now scored a league-high 86 runs in 10 games in May.

Hanwha Eagles starter Ryu Hyun-jin pitches against the Kiwoom Heroes during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on May 12, 2026. (Yonhap)