In the official opening game of the '2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League' held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 23rd, Hanwha's starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin takes the mound in the bottom of the second inning and takes a breath before pitching.
Ryu Hyun-jin (37, Hanwha Eagles), who returned to his former team after 12 years, is trying for his first win in front of his home fans. Ryu Hyun-jin, who became the losing pitcher in his first appearance in the opening game due to poor ball control and defensive errors, took on the important responsibility of continuing Hanwha's five-game winning streak.
Ryu Hyun-jin will start in the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank home game against KT Wiz held at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 29th.
Ryu Hyun-jin suffered a defeat against the LG Twins on the 23rd, allowing 5 runs (2 earned) in 3⅔ innings. The pitch was good enough that the maximum speed of the fastball was 150 km/h, but it was an unsatisfactory game to the point that even he himself said he had problems with ball control.
Ryu Hyun-jin said, “No matter how much you throw 150 km, it is useless if you can’t control the ball because batters have the ability to make contact. Even if the fastball velocity is only in the early 140 km, if you control the ball well, you will get better results.”
At the same time, he said, “I will think of the loss (in the opening game) as just receiving a vaccination,” and expressed his determination, “I will prepare well for the next game by doing what a starting pitcher can do.”
Coincidentally, since Ryu Hyun-jin started the game, Hanwha is on a 4-game winning streak. In addition, all starting pitchers achieved victories during this period.
Felix Peña led the team to victory by allowing 2 runs in 6⅔ innings against Jamsil LG on the 24th, while Minwoo Kim and Ricardo Sanchez each pitched 5 scoreless innings and allowed 1 run in 5⅔ innings against Incheon SSG on the 26th and 27th, respectively, leading the team to victory. In addition, Dong-ju Moon, the youngest member of the team's starting lineup, also became the winning pitcher in the game against SSG on the 28th, allowing 2 runs in 5 innings. Ryu Hyun-jin played the role of stopper for consecutive losses as the team's ace before entering the Major League Baseball (MLB), but this time he must play a role in continuing the team's good trend. In order for Ryu Hyun-jin to get his first win on his return, he must block KT's batting lineup that is slowly heating up. KT's firepower is reviving, scoring 8 points in a row against the Doosan Bears on the 27th and 28th. The team's batting average is also ranked 3rd (0.302). In particular, Mel Rojas Jr., who returned 4 seasons after winning the 2020 KBO League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, is swinging a bat with a batting average of 0.300, 3 home runs, 5 RBIs, and an OPS (slugging percentage + on-base percentage) of 1.217. William Cuevas, who was announced as KT's starter on this day, is also a mountain that Ryu Hyun-jin must overcome to achieve his first win. Cuevas, who played as a top starting pitcher last season with 12 wins and an ERA of 2.60, was particularly strong against the Eagles. He pitched in 4 games against Hanwha last year and recorded 4 wins and an ERA of 0.32 (1 run in 28 innings). If Ryu Hyun-jin wins this game, he will become the winning pitcher 4,203 days after the Doosan game in Jamsil on September 25, 2012. 토토
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