Professional baseball Hanwha Eagles pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin (38) failed to go beyond five innings for the first time this season. Ryu struggled with his control, which is not typical for him, and faced difficulties. He threw 78 pitches over three innings, exhausting himself.

On the 18th, Ryu Hyun-jin recorded three innings with six hits, two walks, two strikeouts, and four runs at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon during the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League, marking the minimum innings pitched this season. With Hanwha losing 3-7, Ryu suffered his second loss of the season (4 wins) and saw his earned run average rise from the 2 range (2.58) to the 3 range (3.09).

It did not start well from the first inning. Ryu began by striking out SSG's leadoff hitter Jeong Joon-jae with a slow curve at 110 km/h, but he subsequently allowed a walk to the next batter Park Seong-han after an eight-pitch battle. He then gave up another walk to Choi Jeong after a seven-pitch duel, accumulating runners with consecutive walks, which is uncharacteristic for Ryu.

In a one-out, runners on first and second situation, Ryu Hyun-jin managed to record an out against Han Yoo-seom with a fly ball to left field, but he conceded an RBI single to Ko Myung-jun, giving SSG the first run of the game. He was targeted with a cutter on the inside. He followed with a foul fly out against Ryan McBroom, preventing additional runs, but he exhausted himself by throwing 29 pitches in just the first inning.

In the second inning, Ryu started by giving up a hit to leadoff hitter Ahn Sang-hyun that barely cleared the shortstop. Although he recorded an infield pop out against Jo Hyeong-woo, he issued a walk to Chae Hyeon-woo after a full count. He threw a series of changeups on the 5th and 6th pitches, but they missed high outside the zone. Next, he gave up an infield hit to Jeong Joon-jae, leading to a one-out, loaded bases crisis.

He managed to get one out by forcing Park Seong-han to pop out in the infield, but allowed a two-RBI single to Choi Jeong, leading to additional runs. When his fastball control faltered, he threw a changeup on the fourth pitch, which Choi caught for a hit that dropped in front of the left fielder. Ryu ended the inning by getting Han Yoo-seom to hit a ground ball to second base, but he threw 30 pitches in just the second inning due to the ripple effects of his control issues.

In the third inning, he recorded a light out against Ko Myung-jun with a fly ball to right and got McBroom with an infield ground ball for two quick outs, but then things went south. Ahn Sang-hyun's hit flew high towards the right side, and while right fielder Lee Jin-young failed to catch the ball that hit the Monster Wall, it turned into a triple. After that, on a ground ball by Jo Hyeong-woo, No Si-hwan failed to field it, allowing the runner on third to score. Ryu struck out Chae Hyeon-woo with a swing, but it was disappointing to suffer runs every inning.

Ultimately, the third inning was Ryu's last. Trailing 1-4, he handed the mound over to bullpen pitcher Joo Hyun-sang at the start of the fourth inning. Ryu, who failed to go past five innings for the first time this season and was pulled early, left after throwing a total of 78 pitches. He threw fastballs at a maximum speed of 147 km/h, an average of 143 km/h, alongside cutters (17), changeups (16), curves (10), and sliders (4), but overall struggled with his control.

For Ryu Hyun-jin, this day marked a four-day rest since his previous game against Doosan on the 13th, where he pitched six innings, threw 99 pitches, and allowed one earned run (unearned). Considering his age of 38, it was difficult to maintain optimal condition for a 2 p.m. day game. Even with his extensive experience, there are days when Ryu cannot maintain good condition throughout a long season.

Although Ryu departed early, Hanwha's bullpen pitchers, including Joo Hyun-sang (1 inning, no runs), Kim Jong-su (1 inning, no runs), Kim Beom-soo (⅓ inning, no runs), Park Sang-won (1⅔ innings, no runs), Jo Dong-wook (⅔ inning, 2 runs, unearned), Jeong Woo-joo (⅓ inning, 1 run), and Lee Tae-yang (1 inning, no runs), managed to withstand for six innings with three runs allowed (one earned run). In the eighth inning, they allowed a three-run homer to Ko Myung-jun, but it stemmed from a throwing error by No Si-hwan after two outs.

The problem lies with the batting lineup. On this day, Hanwha recorded 12 hits, two walks, and one hit by pitch for a total of 15 times on base but only managed to score three runs. They left 10 runners on base, struggling with a lack of critical hits.

The issue is that Hanwha's low scoring has persisted for quite some time since the beginning of the season. After experiencing a collective slump early in the season, the Hanwha batting lineup showed improvement during two long winning streaks of eight and twelve games.

However, this week, after the twelve-game winning streak was broken, they scored three runs or fewer in each of their six games with scores of 3-1-2-1-2-3. They finished with a total of 12 runs, averaging 2 runs. At this scoring rate, it is difficult to win unless the pitchers perform like Cody Ponce. Hanwha lost all five games following Ponce's 18 strikeouts this week, finishing with a record of 1 win and 5 losses and allowing a two-game gap with first-place LG while sharing second place with Lotte.

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