Professional baseball player Ariel Hurado (29) of the Samsung Lions secured consecutive victories against his former team, the Kiwoom Heroes.
Hurado made a start in the game against the Kiwoom Heroes in the 2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 21st, recording a victory with 6 innings pitched, 5 hits allowed, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, and 1 run.
In the bottom of the first inning, after allowing lead-off hitter Song Seong-mun to advance to second base with a hit and a wild pitch, Hurado caught Lee Joo-hyung with a fly out to center field and struck out Lim Byeong-wook. Ruben Cardenas was caught on a fly out to right field, ending the inning without allowing a run. He wrapped up the second inning with a clean three up, three down.
In the third inning with two outs, Hurado allowed a hit to Song Seong-mun. However, he retired Lee Joo-hyung on a ground ball to the catcher, ending the inning without any major crisis. In the fourth inning with one out, he gave up an infield single to Cardenas, but induced a ground ball out from Lee Hyung-jong to catch the lead runner, and Kim Tae-jin also handled a ground ball to the second baseman.
With Samsung leading 2-0 in the fifth inning and one out, after allowing Jeon Tae-hyun to reach second base with a walk and a stolen base, Hurado was faced with a crisis when Oh Sun-jin hit a single, placing runners on first and third. Following that, he allowed a one-run infield hit to Song Seong-mun, making the score 1-2. Afterward, he struck out Lee Joo-hyung and Lim Byeong-wook was retired on a ground ball to first base, ending the inning without further runs. He again ended the sixth inning neatly with another three up, three down.
Hurado handed the mound over to Kim Jae-yoon in the seventh inning with Samsung leading 3-1 and finished his appearance for the day. Samsung succeeded in adding more runs, winning 5-1 and extending their winning streak to two games. They also secured a winning series in the three-game series during the week.
Hurado threw 102 pitches, utilizing fastballs (37 pitches), two-seam fastballs (18 pitches), changeups (18 pitches), curveballs (13 pitches), sliders (13 pitches), and cutters (3 pitches). His fastball reached a top speed of 149 km/h. He pitched aggressively, with a strike rate of 69.6%, targeting the Kiwoom batters.
Hurado, who entered the KBO League after signing with Kiwoom in 2023, accumulated 21 wins over two seasons, establishing himself as Kiwoom's ace. After failing to re-sign with Kiwoom following last season, Hurado succeeded in staying in the KBO League by signing with Samsung.
Hurado, who has been showing great performance with Samsung, has particularly demonstrated strong form against his former team, Kiwoom. After winning against Kiwoom with 6 innings, 8 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, and 2 runs on March 22 in Daegu, he achieved a quality start (6 innings, 3 earned runs or fewer) in this game, marking his fourth win of the season. He showcased his prowess as a former team killer by winning both games against Kiwoom.
Hurado noted, "I’m glad I finished today’s game with a good result. After yesterday's team victory, winning today’s game as well has extended our winning streak; I hope this winning streak continues so we can return to the rankings we used to have. I feel like I've sufficiently adapted to the mound at Gocheok Dome, which has helped me perform a bit better. Above all, I’m happy to be able to play with my new teammates."
"I will focus on the areas I can control," Hurado said, "and I want to help the team by maximizing the number of innings I can pitch for the rest of the season."
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