Heroes Rally Past Giants to Close Out KBO Preseason with Yeo’s Heroics

Seoul: A teenage rookie Yeo Dong-wook smacked a tiebreaking solo home run as the Kiwoom Heroes came from behind to defeat the Lotte Giants 3-2 to close out the preseason in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). According to Yonhap News Agency, the 19-year-old Yeo, a third-round choice in the 2024 KBO draft, broke the 2-2 tie with a solo shot off reliever Kim Won-jung in the bottom of the eighth inning at Gocheok Sky Dome. It was Yeo's second home run of the preseason, contributing to the Heroes' league-best 13th homer. This was the only game played on the last day of the preseason, as four other games were canceled due to unseasonal snow. The KBO's 144-game regular season is set to begin on Saturday. The Heroes concluded the preseason with a record of 6-3-1, winning their last three games. Conversely, the Giants ended at 2-4-2 after losing their final three games. The KT Wiz finished with the highest winning percentage at 6-1-0. The Giants initially took the lead in the top of the first inning, with Na Se ung-yeup's RBI single scoring Son Ho-young, who had reached second base after an error by second baseman Song Sung-mun. The Heroes quickly responded with Kim Jae-hyun's RBI single in the bottom of the second. The Giants regained the lead in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly by Han Tae-yang, making it 2-1. The Heroes leveled the game in the bottom of the fifth when Park Ju-hong, who had been promoted to the leadoff spot after a homer in the previous game, hit a double off the right field wall. With two outs in the eighth, Yeo's crucial homer provided the decisive margin. Kiwoom's rookie starter Jung Hyun-woo delivered another solid performance, allowing just two runs-one unearned-on three hits over four innings. Already slated as the team's No. 4 starter for the regular season, Jung concluded the preseason with an impressive 0.82 ERA. Giants starter Na Gyun-an pitched five innings with eight strikeouts.