The Hanwha Eagles secured a victory at the Changwon NC Park game held after 62 days. Ryu Hyun-jin tasted the joy of victory for the first time in 24 days.

Hanwha won the away game against the NC Dinos in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Changwon NC Park on the 30th, winning 7-1.

Starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin recorded 6 innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, and 1 run, achieving his 5th win of the season (2 losses), and Chae Eun-seong hit a decisive home run in the 4th inning after hitting a game-winning two-run homer in the 11th inning against LG on the 28th. Estevan Florial, Ha Ju-suk, Lee Jin-young, and Choi Jae-hun also had two hits each, as the offense was active for a change.

With a season record of 33 wins and 23 losses (winning percentage .589), Hanwha maintained its position in second place. The NC, which had its first home game in 62 days since March 29 against LG, suffered its 4th consecutive loss, with a season record of 23 wins, 26 losses, and 3 ties (winning percentage .469).

NC scored first in the bottom of the first inning. Against Hanwha's starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, leadoff hitter Kwon Hee-dong opened the scoring with a double to right field. Then, Kim Joo-won connected a timely hit that dropped to the left of center field on the 6th pitch from Ryu Hyun-jin, gaining the early advantage. The opportunity continued with a ground ball out at first by Park Min-woo, but they could not add more runs. Ryu Hyun-jin ended the bottom of the first inning without allowing additional runs by striking out Matt Davidson and Park Gun-woo with changeups.

In the top of the third inning, Hanwha mounted a counterattack. After one out, Choi Jae-hun hit an infield single, followed by Hwang Young-mook's infield single. Both were weakly hit balls that resulted in infield singles, causing NC's starting pitcher Riley Thompson to lose composure. Hanwha seized this opportunity. In a bases-loaded situation with one out after Estevan Florial walked, Ha Ju-suk tied the game with a one-run timely hit to center field. After falling into a disadvantageous count with back-to-back swings and misses for the first two pitches, Ha Ju-suk's hit on the fourth pitch found its way to center field.

In the continued bases-loaded situation, Moon Hyun-bin struck out swinging, and Roh Si-hwan hit a line drive to second base, failing to score additional runs, but succeeded in turning the game around in the top of the fourth inning with a home run. Leadoff hitter Chae Eun-seong pulled a fastball at 149 km/h that came in high for Riley on the second pitch, sending it over the left-center wall. The distance was 120 meters, marking his 7th home run of the season. He has hit 5 home runs in the last 10 games. This was his third decisive home run following a solo shot in the 2nd inning against NC in Ulsan on the 20th and a two-run homer in the 11th inning against LG on the 28th.

In the top of the fifth inning, Hanwha added two more runs. Lee Jin-young's ordinary fly ball was missed by center fielder Kim Sung-wook at sunset, turning a potential out into a double. In the continued opportunity, Ha Ju-suk laid down a successful bunt towards third base, and after the throw from NC's third baseman Kim Hwi-jip went awry, Florial, who advanced from second to third, sprinted home.

Amid ongoing misfortunes, Riley's mental state was shaken. During the at-bat of the next batter, Moon Hyun-bin, a pick-off attempt at first base led to an errant throw, letting another base go. In a situation of one out and runners at second and third from Moon Hyun-bin's sacrifice bunt, the first pitch slider thrown to Roh Si-hwan became a wild pitch, allowing Ha Ju-suk to score as Hanwha took a 4-1 lead.

In the top of the seventh inning, Hanwha forced Riley to exit the game with consecutive walks by Hwang Young-mook and Florial. Against new pitcher Kim Jae-yeol, Hanwha connected a chance with one out and runners at second and third through Ha Ju-suk's sacrifice bunt, followed by a two-run double from Moon Hyun-bin that went over the center fielder's head and a one-run timely hit from Lee Jin-young, extending the lead.

Supported by a personal season-high 7 runs, Hanwha's starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin dominated the NC lineup with a quality start, allowing 3 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, and 1 run over 6 innings. In the 4th inning with one out and a runner at first, he induced a double play from Kim Hwi-jip, and in the 6th inning with no outs and a runner at first, he did the same with Kim Joo-won, effectively managing his pitch count. He totaled 91 pitches, with a maximum speed of 147 km/h, averaging 144 km/h, and primarily throwing fastballs (41), along with changeups (19), curves (18), and cutters (13).

After becoming the winning pitcher for the first time in 24 days since the game against Samsung in Daejeon on the 6th, Ryu Hyun-jin secured his 5th win of the season (2 losses), lowering his season ERA from 3.28 to 3.12. This was the first time he received more than 7 runs of support in a game since September 13 last year against Lotte in Sajik (6 innings, 7 runs) over the last 13 games.

NC's starting pitcher Riley recorded 6 innings, allowing 7 hits (1 home run), 3 walks, 5 strikeouts, and 6 runs (5 earned), suffering his 3rd loss of the season (7 wins). He ended a personal 5-game winning streak. Following a 4-run loss in 3⅔ innings against Hanwha on the 19th of last month, he faced defeat again after 41 days. He utilized fastballs (57), primarily at a maximum speed of 155 km/h, as well as sliders (17), curves (15), and forks (8). Although his pitches were good, weakly hit balls turned into hits, compounded by unrecorded errors, which made it difficult for him.

Meanwhile, a total of 12,395 spectators entered Changwon NC Park, which reopened after 62 days.

[OSEN]