Professional baseball Hanwha Eagles ace Ryu Hyun-jin (38) has failed to secure his first win of the season for three consecutive games. In the hitter-friendly "La Park," he gave up two home runs and accrued the conditions for his first loss of the season.
Ryu Hyun-jin started the away game against the Samsung Lions on May 5 at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, pitching 5 innings with 8 hits allowed (2 home runs), 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, and 4 earned runs before being pulled. He left the game losing 1-4 after giving up a solo home run to Lewin Diaz in the sixth inning.
On the 25th of last month against the LG Twins at Jamsil (6 innings, 3 hits allowed, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts, 0 earned runs), and on the 30th against the KIA Tigers in Daejeon (6 innings, 6 hits allowed, 1 home run, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 2 earned runs), Ryu Hyun-jin pitched quality starts but was unable to secure a win due to insufficient run support, scoring zero and only two runs, respectively.
Aiming for his first win in his third appearance of the season, Ryu Hyun-jin faced challenges. Prior to this game, the Hanwha lineup was struggling with a season team batting average in the .100s (.173) and an average of 2.5 runs, failing to get going even in this game.
On a rainy, gloomy day, Ryu Hyun-jin took the mound and immediately gave up a home run to the lead-off hitter. A high pitch at 139 km/h thrown to Lee Jae-hyun became a clear mistake and turned into a solo home run to left-center field.
However, Ryu Hyun-jin finished the first inning with just 9 pitches while recording a flyout by Gu Ja-wook, a flyout by Kim Young-woong, and a groundout by Kang Min-ho. In the second inning, he allowed a hit to Kim Heon-gon but passed through without giving up any runs, striking out Park Byung-ho with a looking strikeout on a fastball and striking out Jeon Byung-woo with a swinging strikeout on a changeup.
In the third inning, lead-off hitter Kim Sung-yoon reached safely with a surprise bunt single, putting Ryu Hyun-jin in a tight spot. After issuing a walk to Jae-hyun, he faced trouble with runners on first and second, managing to record a flyout by Gu Ja-wook and a flyout by Kim Young-woong but allowing a timely hit from Kang Min-ho.
In the fourth inning, Ryu Hyun-jin forced a ground ball from Lewin Diaz that resulted in a full count battle going to 11 pitches, followed by groundouts from Kim Heon-gon and Jeon Byung-woo, ending the inning in order.
However, he gave up another run in the fifth inning. After allowing a double to Kim Sung-yoon to left, Ryu Hyun-jin retired Lee Jae-hyun with a flyout to right field. During Gu Ja-wook's ground ball, a base-running mistake by the runner from second to third, Kim Sung-yoon, occurred. While he managed to get the second out and temporarily relieve some pressure with runners on first, he then allowed consecutive hits to Kim Young-woong and Kang Min-ho.
Despite reaching 85 pitches, Ryu Hyun-jin returned to the mound in the sixth inning but was pulled after giving up a solo home run to Diaz.
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