DAEJEON, South Korea (Interstat) — Moon Hyun-bin launched a three-run home run in the first inning and Kim Tae-yean added a solo shot in the fifth as the Hanwha Eagles held on for a 4-3 victory over the Kia Tigers on Wednesday evening at Daejeon Hanbat Baseball Stadium.

The win before an announced crowd of 17,000 evened the three-game series at one victory apiece after Kia won the opener 6-4 on Tuesday. Hanwha improved to 31-28, while Kia fell to 33-28-1.

Moon’s blast came with two outs in the bottom of the first after Oh Jae-won and Yonathan Perlaza both drew walks. The left fielder drove a pitch from Kia starter Choi Ji-min over the right-field wall, giving Hanwha a 3-0 lead before the Tigers recorded their first out of the inning. The early deficit proved decisive as Hanwha starter White worked seven innings of six-hit ball, allowing only one earned run while striking out five.

Kia threatened in the second when Na Sung-bum led off with a double and advanced to third on a flyout, but White struck out Kim Kyu-sung and got Byun Woo-hyuk to fly out to right to end the inning. The Tigers put two runners on in the third on singles by Kim Tae-gun and Park Jae-hyun, but Kim Min-gyu grounded into a fielder’s choice and Kim Do-young reached on an error that loaded the bases. Na Sung-bum then flied out to right to leave the bases loaded.

White continued to work effectively, retiring six straight batters from the fourth into the fifth. Kim Tae-yean extended the Hanwha lead in the bottom of the fifth when he led off with a home run to left field, his second hit of the game and first RBI. The first baseman finished 2 for 4 with a homer and a run batted in.

Kia finally broke through in the seventh when Byun Woo-hyuk led off with a solo home run to left field, cutting the deficit to 4-1. Kim Tae-gun followed with a single to right-center, but White struck out Park Min to end the inning.

The Tigers mounted a rally in the eighth after White had departed. Park Jae-hyun walked to lead off, and after a fielder’s choice erased him, Kim Do-young struck out. Na Sung-bum then doubled down the left-field line, sending Han Jun-su to third. Aderlin Rodriguez singled to right field, scoring both Na and Han Jun-su to pull Kia within 4-3. But Kim Kyu-sung grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Aneury Rodriguez was thrown out at second to end the inning.

Hanwha reliever Cho Dong-uk entered in the eighth and retired the side in order, striking out two. Lee Min-woo worked a perfect ninth for his first save of the season, getting Kim Do-young to ground out with the tying run on base.

Choi Ji-min took the loss for Kia, allowing three earned runs on two hits and three walks over 1 1/3 innings. He struck out three. Kim Beom-su, Lee Hyeong-beom and Han Jae-seung each threw a scoreless inning of relief, with Han striking out two.

For Hanwha, Moon Hyun-bin drove in three runs on his lone hit, a home run. Kim Tae-yean also went deep. Roh Si-hwan and Heo In-seo each had a hit, while Lee Do-yun singled twice. Kang Baek-ho doubled in the seventh but was left stranded.

White earned the win, allowing just the one run on six hits over seven innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out five. Cho Dong-uk retired both batters he faced, striking out two. Lee Min-woo pitched the ninth, allowing no hits and no runs.

The game marked the fourth meeting of the season between the division rivals. Hanwha took two of three in a series at Kia in early May, while Kia had won the previous two matchups in April. The Tigers had won eight of their last 12 games entering Wednesday, while the Eagles had won six of their last nine.

Kia returns to Daejeon on Thursday for the series finale, then hosts Doosan for three games starting Friday. Hanwha heads to Seoul to face Kiwoom for a three-game set beginning Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Hanwha Eagles 5, Kia Tigers 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Hanwha with a 53.60 percent probability to win. Kia had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 5 went over the over/under line of 10.5.