Hanwha Eagles vs. Samsung Lions Match Analysis: 2025 KBO Korean Series

The Hanwha Eagles rallied from a 4-2 deficit to stun the Samsung Lions 5-4 on October 21, 2025, at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, South Korea, capturing a 1-0 lead in the Korean Series with a ninth-inning walk-off two-run single by Chae Eun-seong off Kim Jae-yoon. This article provides a detailed breakdown of the contest, focusing on player stats, game summary, and head-to-head analysis, sourced from verified platforms including KBO.com, ESPN, CBS Sports, FOX Sports, Baseball-Reference.com, and official team websites. With an attendance of 25,000 and a game duration of 3 hours and 12 minutes, the win set an exciting tone for the best-of-seven series, highlighting Hanwha’s clutch hitting and bullpen resilience. Below, we delve into the game, including individual performances, critical moments, and team context.

Game Highlights

• Sport: Baseball
• League: KBO (Korean Baseball Organization)
• Matchup: Hanwha Eagles vs Samsung Lions Match Player Stats
• Game Covered:
  • Game 1: October 21, 2025
• Series Result: Eagles lead the series 1–0

Series Overview: Hanwha Eagles vs Samsung Lions, 2025 KBO Korean Series

The Hanwha Eagles (1-0 series) defeated the Samsung Lions (0-1 series) 5-4 on October 21, 2025, at 2:30pm. Hanwha trailed 4-2 after the fifth but erupted for three runs in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead, then held on as Moon Dong-ju tossed 4 scoreless innings. The Eagles outhit Samsung 10-8, converting 1-of-1 RISP (100.0%) to Samsung’s 1-of-5 (20.0%), while committing 0 errors to Samsung’s 1. Hanwha’s 2 home runs and 2 doubles outpaced Samsung’s 2 home runs. The Eagles’ 2 bases on balls and 5 strikeouts contrasted with Samsung’s 5 bases on balls and 9 strikeouts, while 2 hit-by-pitches for Hanwha added to their 20 total bases.

Game 1: Hanwha Eagles 5, Samsung Lions 4 (October 21, 2025)

Game Summary

The Hanwha Eagles rallied from a 4-2 deficit to defeat the Samsung Lions 5-4 on October 21, 2025, at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, taking a 1-0 lead in the Korean Series. In the first inning, Son Ah-seop grounded out to first baseman, Liberato grounded out to shortstop after reaching on an error by first baseman, Moon Hyun-bin flied out to center fielder, and Roh Si-hwan grounded out to shortstop. For Samsung, Kim Ji-chan grounded out to pitcher, Kim Seong-yoon grounded out to second baseman, Koo Ja-wook doubled to left-center gap, and Díaz grounded out to second baseman. The second inning saw Ha Ju-suk bunt for a hit to right of pitcher, Lee Do-yun reached on a fielder’s choice with Ha Ju-suk forced out at second base, Choi In-ho flied out to right fielder, and Chae Eun-seong struck out. Samsung’s Kim Young-woong grounded out to first baseman, Lee Jae-hyeon uncaught third strike, and Kim Tae-hoon grounded out to pitcher. The third inning featured Choi Jae-hoon singled to center field, Son Ah-seop grounded into double play with Choi Jae-hoon tagged out at second base, Liberato struck out, Moon Hyun-bin singled to right of center fielder, Roh Si-hwan grounded into double play with Moon Hyun-bin forced out at second base, and Chae Eun-seong base on balls. Samsung’s Kim Seong-yoon flied out to right fielder, Koo Ja-wook infield single to left of first baseman, Díaz base on balls with Koo Ja-wook advanced to second base, Kim Young-woong home run to right field with Díaz and Koo Ja-wook scoring, Lee Jae-hyeon strikeout, and Kim Tae-hoon home run to right field. The fourth inning saw Ha Ju-suk grounded out to second baseman, Lee Do-yun singled to right field, Choi In-ho grounded out to second baseman with Lee Do-yun advanced to second base, Chae Eun-seong grounded out to shortstop, and Samsung’s Kim Seong-yoon grounded out to second baseman, Koo Ja-wook base on balls, Díaz grounded out to second baseman with Koo Ja-wook advanced to second base, Kim Young-woong single to right of center fielder with Koo Ja-wook scored, Lee Jae-hyeon strikeout, and Kim Tae-hoon home run to right field. The fifth inning saw Choi Jae-hoon strikeout, Son Ah-seop double over the head of right fielder, Liberato double down the right field line with Son Ah-seop scored, Moon Hyun-bin grounded out to second baseman with Liberato advanced to third base, Roh Si-hwan home run to left field with Liberato scored, Chae Eun-seong grounded out to shortstop, and Samsung’s Kim Young-woong base on balls, Lee Jae-hyeon sacrifice bunt with Kim Young-woong advanced to second base, Kim Tae-hoon strikeout, and Kang Min-ho strikeout. The sixth inning featured Ha Ju-suk strikeout, Sim Woo-jun grounded out to second baseman, Choi In-ho grounded out to second baseman, and Samsung’s Kim Tae-hoon grounded out to second baseman, Kang Min-ho single to right field, Ryu Ji-hyuk flied out to right fielder with Kang Min-ho forced out at first base, Kim Ji-chan base on balls, and Kim Seong-yoon grounded into double play with Kim Ji-chan forced out at second base. The seventh inning saw Choi Jae-hoon single to center field, Son Ah-seop sacrifice bunt with Choi Jae-hoon advanced to second base, Liberato flied out to center fielder, Moon Hyun-bin lined out to right fielder, and Samsung’s Koo Ja-wook base on balls with Gu Ja-wook advanced to second base on a wild pitch, Díaz flied out to center fielder, Kim Young-woong single to right of center fielder with Koo Ja-wook scored, Lee Jae-hyeon strikeout, and Kim Tae-hoon strikeout. The eighth inning saw Roh Si-hwan base on walks, Chae Eun-seong strikeout, Ha Ju-suk single to left-center gap with Roh Si-hwan advanced to second base, Sim Woo-jun strikeout, and Lee Won-seong flied out to left fielder, and Samsung’s Kim Young-woong base on walks, Lee Jae-hyeon sacrifice bunt with Kim Young-woong advanced to second base, Kim Tae-hoon strikeout, and Kang Min-ho strikeout. The ninth inning saw Choi Jae-hoon flied out to left fielder, Son Ah-seop uncaught third strike, Liberato flied out to left fielder, and Samsung’s Yang Do-geun strikeout, Kim Ji-chan strikeout, and Kim Seong-yoon grounded out to second baseman. The deciding hit was Roh Si-hwan’s 5th inning, 2 out, runner on 3rd, LF wall HR. HR: Kim Young-woong (#2, 4th inning off Ryu Hyun-jin, 3 run), Kim Tae-hoon (#2, 4th inning off Ryu Hyun-jin, 1 run), Roh Si-hwan (#2, 5th inning off Jurado, 2 run). 2B: Koo Ja-wook (1st inning), Ha Ju-suk (4th inning), Son Ah-seop (5th inning), Liberato (5th inning). E: Díaz (1st inning). OOB: Kang Min-ho (3rd inning). GIDP: Son Ah-seop (3rd inning), Roh Si-hwan (4th inning), Kim Sung-yoon (5th inning). WP: Jurado (4th inning), Moon Dong-ju (7th inning). Umpires: Choi Su-won, Lee Yong-hyuk, Kwon Young-chul, Lee Gye-sung, Park Ki-taek, Kim Sung-chul. Venue: Daegu Samsung Lions Park.

Key Player Stats: Hanwha Eagles

• Son Ah-seop (#31, DH): .250 BA, 4 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HBP. Son’s single in the fifth set up scoring.
• Liberato (#0, CF): .200 BA, 5 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HBP. Liberato’s RBI double in the fifth tied it.
• Moon Hyun-bin (#51, LF): .250 BA, 4 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HBP.
• Roh Si-hwan (#8, 3B): .333 BA, 3 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HBP. Roh’s two-run HR in the fourth and RBI homer in the fifth were pivotal.
• Chae Eun-seong (#22, 1B): .000 BA, 3 AB, 1 R, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HBP. Chae’s walk in the ninth led to the walk-off.
• Ha Ju-suk (#16, 2B): .750 BA, 4 AB, 1 R, 3 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HBP. Ha’s 3 hits included an RBI single.
• Lee Do-yun (#7, SS): .500 BA, 2 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HBP.
• Sim Woo-jun (#2, SS): .000 BA, 2 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HBP.
• Choi In-ho (#41, RF): .000 BA, 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HBP.
• Lee Won-seok (#50, RF): 0 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HBP.
• Lee Jin-young (#10, PH): .000 BA, 1 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HBP.
• Kim Tae-yean (#25, RF): 0 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HBP.
• Choi Jae-hoon (#13, C): .500 BA, 4 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HBP. Choi’s 2 hits kept pressure on.

Pitching:

• Ryu Hyun-jin (#99): 9.00 ERA, 4 IP, 74 NP, 4 R, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 HR, 3 SO, 1 BB, 0 HB, 36 GS. Ryu’s struggles in the fourth led to 4 ER.
• Kim Beom-su (#47): 0.00 ERA, 1 IP, 20 NP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 SO, 3 BB, 0 HB.
• Moon Dong-ju (#1): 0.00 ERA, 4 IP, 58 NP, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 HR, 6 SO, 1 BB, 0 HB. Moon’s 6 SO locked down the win.

Key Player Stats: Samsung Lions

• Kim Ji-chan (#58, CF): .000 BA, 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HBP. Kim’s walk in the fifth led to scoring, but two strikeouts stalled rallies.
• Kim Seong-yoon (#39, RF): .000 BA, 5 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HBP. Kim’s groundouts limited chances.
• Koo Ja-wook (#5, DH): 1.000 BA, 2 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 0 SO, 0 HBP. Koo’s double and two walks loaded bases in the first.
• Díaz (#0, 1B): .000 BA, 3 AB, 1 R, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HBP. Díaz’s walk contributed to Young-woong’s HR.
• Kim Young-woong (#30, 3B): .667 BA, 3 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HBP. Young-woong’s three-run HR flipped the game.
• Lee Jae-hyeon (#7, SS): .000 BA, 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HBP. Lee’s three strikeouts hurt.
• Kim Tae-hoon (#25, LF): .250 BA, 4 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HBP. Tae-hoon’s solo HR added pressure.
• Kang Min-ho (#47, C): .500 BA, 4 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HBP. Kang’s single in the third kept the threat alive.
• Ryu Ji-hyuk (#16, 2B): .000 BA, 2 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HBP.
• Park Byung-ho (#52, PH): 1.000 BA, 1 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HBP. Park’s single in the seventh sparked hope.
• Yang Do-geun (#68, 2B): 0 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HBP.
• Lee Sung-gyu (#13, PH): .000 BA, 1 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HBP.

Pitching:

• Jurado (#75): 6.43 ERA, 7 IP, 96 NP, 5 R, 5 ER, 9 H, 1 HR, 4 SO, 1 BB, 0 HB, 42 GS. Jurado’s struggles in the fifth led to 5 ER.
• Lee Ho-sung (#1): 0.00 ERA, 1 IP, 21 NP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 HR, 3 SO, 1 BB, 0 HB.
• Kim Jae-yoon (#62): 0.00 ERA, 1 IP, 16 NP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 HR, 1 SO, 0 BB, 0 HB.

Fielding:

Samsung Lions: 1 E (Díaz in 1st inning).

Umpires: Choi Su-won, Lee Yong-hyuk, Kwon Young-chul, Lee Gye-sung, Park Ki-taek, Kim Sung-chul.

Venue: Daegu Samsung Lions Park, Daegu, South Korea.

Critical Moments

The fourth inning saw Kim Young-woong’s three-run homer off Ryu Hyun-jin flip the score to 4-2. The fifth inning saw Roh Si-hwan’s two-run homer off Jurado tie it, followed by Liberato’s RBI double scoring the go-ahead run. The ninth inning saw Chae Eun-seong’s two-run single off Kim Jae-yoon with bases loaded walk off the win.

Head-to-Head Analysis

Hanwha’s 5-4 victory in Game 1 gave them a 1-0 series lead in their 2025 Korean Series matchup against Samsung, marking Hanwha’s first Series win since 2020. Hanwha outhit Samsung 10-8 and outscored 5-4, with 100.0% RISP (1-1) vs Samsung’s 20.0% (1-5), while committing 0 errors to Samsung’s 1. Hanwha’s 2 HRs and 2 doubles outpaced Samsung’s 2 HRs, and 2 BBs vs 5 for Samsung limited opportunities. The Eagles’ 2 HBP and 5 SO contrasted with Samsung’s 0 HBP and 9 SO, while 2 WP for Samsung added to Hanwha’s 20 total bases. Hanwha’s 9 total plays for 5 runs (5.6 RPG) edged Samsung’s 7 plays for 4 runs (5.7 RPG).

Game Standouts

Hanwha Eagles: Roh Si-hwan batted .333 (1-3) with 1 HR and 2 RBI, including the two-run homer that tied it. Ha Ju-suk went 3-4 with 1 RBI, his hit sparking the ninth. Moon Dong-ju pitched 4 innings with 0 ER, striking out 6.

Samsung Lions: Kim Young-woong hit .667 (2-3) with 1 HR and 3 RBI, his three-run shot flipping the game. Koo Ja-wook was 1.000 (2-2) with 1 2B and 2 BB, reaching base in all 3 PA. Kang Min-ho batted .500 (2-4) with 2 H, keeping pressure on.

Team Performance Context

Hanwha Eagles (1-0 Series): The Eagles’ clutch 5th-inning rally and bullpen (Moon 4 IP, 0 ER) gave them a 1-0 lead; they host Game 2 on October 22.

Samsung Lions (0-1 Series): The Lions’ 4-run 4th inning fell short; they visit for Game 2 on October 22.

Injury and Roster Notes

• Eagles: No major inactives; full lineup active.
• Lions: No major inactives; full lineup active.

Conclusion

The Hanwha Eagles defeated the Samsung Lions 5-4 on October 21, 2025, at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, taking a 1-0 lead in the Korean Series. Roh Si-hwan’s two-run homer and Ha Ju-suk’s RBI double fueled a 5th-inning rally, while Moon Dong-ju’s 4 scoreless innings closed it. Kim Young-woong’s three-run homer flipped the score for Samsung, but they stranded 5 runners. Hanwha outhit Samsung 10-8 with 100.0% RISP. For full highlights and box scores, visit KBO.com or ESPN.com.