The Hanwha Eagles’ “monster” Ryu Hyun-jin’s first win against the NC Dinos fell short again.
Ryu took the mound against NC on April 19 at Changwon NC Park. Prior to that game, he had faced NC three times without a win and one loss. In the first meeting, on April 17, he recorded his first quality start of the season with seven innings, three hits (one home run), two walks, eight strikeouts, and three earned runs, but it didn’t lead to a win.
On May 14, he tossed six innings of eight-hit, two-run ball with eight strikeouts and two walks, but was charged with a no-decision. On July 18, Ryu struggled against NC, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits, one walk, and five strikeouts in five innings. He went for his fourth win against NC but came up short.
After a leadoff single by Kwon Kwang-min in the top of the first inning, Ryu was hit by a double by Seo Ho-chul, the first batter he faced in the bottom of the inning. After handling Kim Joo-won’s grounder to short, Ryu gave up a single to left to Park Min-woo, putting runners on first and third.
Ryu got Matt Davidson, the home run leader, to strike out on a wild pitch, but gave up a walk to Kim Hwijip to load the bases.
Ryu then gave up a two-run home run to left-center off Jae-Hwan Chun. He threw a fastball (146 kilometers), but the ball sailed over the left-field fence. This is the second time Ryu has hit a walk-off home run. It was the first time in 5956 days since May 30, 2008, against the LG Twins in Cheongju.
Ryu regained his composure in the second inning. 파워볼실시간 Ryu retired Seo Ho-chul and Kim Joo-won in order in the second before striking out Min-woo Park on a fly ball to left field. He gave up a leadoff single to Matt Davidson in the third inning, but retired Kim Hwi-jip (grounder to first base) and Shin Jae-hwan (fly to left field). Two batters later, Ryu gave up a single to left against Han Seok-hyun, but he got Kim Sung-wook to fly out to left field to end the inning.
Ryu was replaced by Park Sang-won in the fourth inning with the score 4-6. “He had fatigue in his left elbow, so we replaced him to protect him,” a club official said of the early decision.
Hanwha defeated NC 7-6 on the same day.
Ryu, who came in as the second pitcher after Ryu, pitched 2⅔ innings of two-hit ball with two strikeouts and no walks to earn the win. Joo Hyun-sang, who took the mound in the ninth inning with a 7-6 lead, pitched one inning of scoreless relief with one strikeout and no walks to earn his 22nd save of the season.
Among the batters, Kwon Kwang-min was the standout performer. Starting in the No. 2 spot in left field, Kwon went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer in the first inning, including a two-run shot to left field, four RBIs and one run scored. Chae Eun-sung, who started at first base in the No. 5 spot, had three hits and one run scored. Lee Do-yoon (4-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 run scored) and Jang Jin-hyuk (4-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 run scored) also had multi-hit games.
Meanwhile, after finishing the three-game series against NC in Changwon with two wins and one loss, Hanwha will welcome the Lotte Giants to Anbang on May 21 for a two-game weekend series.