It is more than one loss. It is all the more so because Ryu Hyun-jin, the absolute ace, has collapsed. This is the story of the Hanwha Eagles, the “Eagle Corps.”안전놀이터
Ryu Hyun-jin took the mound as Hanwha’s starting pitcher in an away game against the Samsung Lions in the 2024 professional baseball KBO League regular season at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 7th.
It was a good start. Ryu took the mound in the bottom of the first inning with four runs scored in the top of the first inning, including Kim Tae-yeon’s timely RBI single, Chae Eun-seong’s timely double, An Chi-hong’s timely RBI single to the right, and Lee Do-yoon’s ground ball. Kim had a hit to the right, but Koo Ja-wook and Kang Min-ho were fouled out to the third baseman and grounded out to shortstop, respectively.
It was okay in the bottom of the second inning as well. He gave up an infield single to Kim, but induced Lee Sung-kyu to play a double play to the third baseman, taking a breather. He then walked Park Byung-ho, but tied Lee Jae-hyun up with a fly ball to shortstop.
In the bottom of the third inning, the runner was put on base, but he did not allow a run. Ahn Joo-hyung allowed a heavy hit, but struck out Kim Hyun-joon with three pitches. He then drew a double play by third baseman Kim Heon-gon to tie the inning.
Choi Jae-hoon’s two-run shot to left-center field in the top of the fourth inning scored 6-0 and Ryu faced his first run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Koo Ja-wook’s double to left and Kang Min-ho’s walk drove them to the first and second bases with no outs. Later, Kim Young-woong and Lee Sung-kyu allowed a fly to left field and a strikeout, respectively, but Park Byung-ho had a timely RBI. Fortunately, he did not allow any additional runs while cooking Lee Jae-hyun with a ground ball to shortstop.
However, Ryu collapsed abruptly in the bottom of the fifth inning. He tied the leadoff hitter Ahn Ju-hyung to a ground ball to shortstop, but faced the first and third bases with one out due to Kim Hyun-joon’s double to the right and Kim Heon-gon’s infield hit to the third base. Here, Ryu dedicated an RBI, timely double to Koo Ja-wook and Kang Min-ho, respectively, and a two-run timely double to the right.
Ryu was unable to stabilize. With runners on second and one out, he allowed Kim Young-woong a two-run shot with a flying distance of 120 meters to cross the right fence. He then offered a double to left field to Lee Sung-kyu, and grounded out Park Byung-ho to third, but gave up the 6-7 lead due to Lee Jae-hyun’s hit to left field. Ryu then gave Ahn a hard time finishing the day by striking out. Hanwha replaced the pitcher with right-handed Park Sang-won at the beginning of the sixth inning.
The final result was 12 hits, one homer, two strikeouts, three strikeouts, and seven runs in five innings. He used fastballs (48 pitches) the most, with a total of 100 pitches sprinkled, and mixed change-up (23 pitches), cutter (17 pitches) and curveball (12 pitches). The maximum speed of fastballs was measured up to 150 kilometers, but he failed to overwhelm Samsung’s batters.
Coming off the mound at a time when his team was trailing 6-7, Ryu will now face his seventh loss (six wins) in this season as Hanwha lost 6-10, failing to tie the game. His earned run average (ERA) also soared from 3.91 to 4.28.
Ryu Hyun-jin, who played 98 wins, 52 losses, one save and a 2.80 ERA in the KBO League from 2006 to 2012, entered the Major League Baseball (MLB) in the U.S. from 2013 to 2023 and posted 78 wins, 48 losses and a 3.27 ERA, returned to Hanwha ahead of this season. When Ryu Hyun-jin, who boasts such a brilliant career, joined the team, Hanwha was immediately considered a dark horse.
In the beginning of the season, Ryu had some difficulties adapting to the Korean stage, but he gradually began to rebound. He lost one game in March and had two wins and two losses and an earned run average of 5.72 in April, but shot a signal of revival with a win and one loss and an earned run average of 3.27 in May. He then found the prowess of the “Korean Monster” as we know it with two wins and no losses in June.
However, he has been faltering again recently. He slowed down to 1-2 losses and 4.50 ERA in July, and did not show much performance on the day when he took his first mound in August. In particular, the 12 hits he gave up in the match against Samsung are the most hits in a single individual game, which was renewed at the Suwon KT Wiz match (five innings, 12 hits, one homer, one strikeout, three strikeouts, six runs and five earned runs).
It is also painful to note that Hanwha’s recent relentless winnings have been put on hold. Hanwha, which had been aiming to jump to the mid-range with eight wins and two losses in its last 10 games before the latest game, has seen its upturn dampened by Ryu’s sluggish performance.