The monster pitcher takes the mound on his birthday. This is the first time in the 20-year career of Hanwha Eagles' Ryu Hyun-jin (38).

Ryu Hyun-jin will make his first start of the season in an away game against the LG Twins at Seoul's Jamsil Stadium at 6:30 p.m. on the 25th. After giving up the starting position for the opening two-game series against KT in Suwon on the 22nd and 23rd to foreign pitchers KODI Ponce and Ryan Weist, Ryu is entering the season as the third starter.

As a result, Ryu Hyun-jin will pitch on his birthday for the first time in his career since his debut in 2006. Born on March 25, 1987, this day marks his 38th birthday. For Ryu, who has never pitched on his birthday even during his time in Major League Baseball in the United States, this is a new experience.

The opponent is formidable. Ryu has to face an LG lineup that overwhelmed Lotte in the opening two-game series. Since the opening game on the 22nd, LG has hit 15 hits including 2 home runs and scored 12 runs, and on the 23rd, they exploded with 5 home runs, achieving 13 hits and 10 runs for two consecutive games with double-digit scores. Over the two days, they hit an impressive 7 home runs, totaling 28 hits and 22 runs, bombarding the Lotte pitching staff. Moon Bo-kyung and Song Chan-eui, who both hit 2 home runs, batted 4-for-8 each.

Although the LG lineup primarily consists of left-handed batters like Hong Chang-ki, Kim Hyun-soo, Moon Bo-kyung, Oh Ji-hwan, Park Hae-min, and Shin Min-jae, they are hitters who do not discriminate between left-handed and right-handed pitchers, so it seems unlikely that the lineup will change specifically for Ryu Hyun-jin. Kim Hyun-soo, who struggled with 1 hit in 8 at-bats in the opening two-game series, showed good results against Ryu last year with 3 hits in 7 at-bats and 1 walk.

Ryu Hyun-jin also made his first appearance of the season last year against LG at Jamsil but suffered a loss. In the opening game on March 23, he pitched 3⅔ innings, allowing 6 hits, 3 walks, and 5 earned runs before being pulled early. There was a critical fielding error by second baseman Moon Hyun-bin in the fourth inning, but Ryu's pitching itself was not very good.

However, after that, he performed well in both games against LG. On August 13, he pitched 5 innings against LG in Daejeon, allowing 2 hits, 2 walks, recording 6 strikeouts without allowing any runs, but the bullpen's struggles led to a lost victory. On September 6, he faced LG again at Jamsil, allowing 6 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts, and 1 earned run over 6 innings for a quality start and secured a victory. Last year's record against LG was 1 win and 1 loss with an earned run average of 1.84 over 3 games.

Ryu Hyun-jin became an LG killer starting with his professional debut on April 12, 2006, against LG, winning that game (7⅓ innings, allowing 3 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts without allowing any runs). He has achieved the most wins with 23 wins and 9 losses against LG over a total of 38 games, with the lowest earned run average of 2.33. Notably, he recorded the most strikeouts in a single game of regular innings with 17 strikeouts during the game in Cheongju on May 11, 2010, and accumulated 279 strikeouts over 273⅔ innings against LG.

For Ryu Hyun-jin, who has maintained a long-standing nemesis relationship with LG, it is expected to be a pleasant birthday. Unlike last year, when the contract was made in the middle of spring camp and he had insufficient preparation time for the season, this year he has been fully engaged in the camp and has raised his condition smoothly. Although his appearance in exhibition games ended with just one outing, he has improved his fastball speed to a maximum of 147 km/h.

After missing his opportunity to pitch in the season opener, Ryu Hyun-jin will also miss the chance to pitch in the first game at the new stadium against KIA on the 28th. While this is disappointing for fans who looked forward to seeing Ryu throw the first pitch in the opening game of the new stadium, a victory on his birthday would also be a romantic notion.

Meanwhile, right-handed pitcher Eliezar Hernandez will start for LG. Hernandez, who joined as a substitute in July last year, recorded 3 wins, 2 losses, 1 save, and 1 hold over 11 games (9 starts and 47 innings) with an earned run average of 4.02 and 55 strikeouts. He showed his competitive spirit by appearing in all 5 playoff games, pitching 7⅓ innings with 10 strikeouts and no runs. Hernandez, who re-signed for an aggregates of $1.3 million, completed his season preparation perfectly by winning 1 game in 2 exhibition games, allowing no runs over 9⅓ innings with 10 strikeouts.

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