Ryu Hyun-jin, who was pushed back twice by rain, made a 'five runs in five innings' steel plate
Ryu started the game against the Lotte Giants in the "2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League" held at Sajik Stadium on Sunday. After allowing eight hits, seven strikeouts, and five walks in five innings, Ryu was substituted for relief pitcher Jang Min-jae. If the Hanwha Eagles' lineup fails to tie the game or turn the tables, Ryu will suffer four losses two wins of the season. In fact, Ryu was hardly able to take the mound in full condition on the day. Both his previous two games were postponed due to rain. Both the game against the KIA Tigers in Gwangju on Saturday and the game against the Lotte Giants in Sajik on Sunday were canceled due to rain. Starting pitchers have their own routines, and even if a game is canceled due to rain, they prepare to throw nearly 100 pitches before then, so even if they do not pitch, they will inevitably be affected by conditioning. Choi Won-ho, a former pitcher and manager of the Hanwha Eagles, acknowledged this point. "I discussed with my pitching coach before the game, and Ryu Hyun-jin said it was okay," he told reporters. "I don't think it will affect me at all. I have a certain routine, but I can't tell you that being pushed aside for a day or two doesn't affect me at all. First of all, I said I could do it accordingly," he said, explaining why Ryu started. The Lotte lineup Ryu faced was Yoon Dong-hee center fielder, Ko Seung-min second baseman, Victor Reyes right fielder, Jeon Joon-woo designated hitter, Na Seung-yeop first baseman, Yoo Kang-nam catcher, Kim Min-seok left fielder, Lee Joo-chan third baseman and Park Seung-wook striker. The starting pitcher will face off with Charlie Barnes, the ace pitcher. Perhaps that's why? In the bottom of the first inning, Ryu was a bit shaky. He had consecutive hits by opposing leadoff Yoon Dong-hee and Ko Seung-min, making it to the first and second bases with no outs. He allowed runners to score runs from the start. Fortunately, he blocked follow-up hitters well, and minimized damage. With runners on the second and third bases with one out and one out, when Reyes was grounded to the pitcher, he induced Jeon Jun-woo to ground to the shortstop to change the score and the out count. With two outs and a third base in the bottom of the first inning, when the team allowed 0-1 to go first, he blocked additional loss by treating Na with a swing strikeout. Ryu continued his steady pitching from the bottom of the second inning. Yoo Kang-nam, the leadoff hitter, had a hit to the right, but he completely erased all subsequent hitters. He caught Kim Min-seok with rookie strikeouts and Lee Joo-chan with swing strikeouts, and blocked Park with a grounder to the second base to end the inning. The first three outs of the game came in the bottom of the third inning. He handled all the high-ranking hitters from Yoon Dong-hee, the opponent team's first batter, to Yoon Dong-hee. He grounded pitcher, Ko Seung-min grounded out to left field, and Reyes blocked with swing strikeouts. Following the mood, he erased the central lineup from the opponent team's fourth inning. He grounded Jeon Joon-woo to the second base, struck out rookie Na Seung-yeop, and grounded out Yoo Kang-nam to shortstop, and instantly secured three outcounts. While cruising in the middle of the game, Ryu allowed an additional run in the bottom of the fifth inning. After one out, he got consecutive hits by Lee Ju-chan and Park Seung-wook, and center fielder Jung Eun-won made a catch error, making the game with one out and runners on the second and third bases. Later, he committed a sacrifice fly to Yoon Dong-hee, making it 0-2, and gave up an RBI double to Ko Seung-min, widening the gap to 0-3. Ryu was hardly able to overcome the crisis. He had a timely RBI single by Reyes, making it 0-4 and Jeon had a triple, making it 0-5. He allowed four runs in the face of eight hitters, failing to prevent the gap from widening. With the start of the sixth inning, the Hanwha Eagles placed relief pitcher Jang Min-jae on the mound in lieu of Ryu Hyun-jin. Ryu left the mound after allowing eight hits, seven strikeouts, no four walks, and five runs in the final five innings. It was his fourth game of the year, and his third game, he allowed five earned runs or more. After taking the mound just before against the SSG Landers in Daejeon on April 30, he challenged to win his first two consecutive games, but had to postpone it to the next opportunity. Meanwhile, Hanwha is being dragged 0-5 against Lotte as the end of the sixth inning begins.