The leadership of the most senior player saved a team that was on the verge of crisis. The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Professional Baseball have been overcoming the challenges that followed their 12-game winning streak, largely due to the efforts of pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin (38).
Ryu Hyun-jin led Hanwha to a 7-1 victory over NC on the 30th, throwing 6 innings with 3 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, and 1 earned run. The Hanwha lineup, which supported him with 7 runs by the 7th inning, showed concentration for a change, but it was Ryu Hyun-jin's outstanding performance against NC's ace Riley Thompson that allowed them to win.
Hanwha finished the series against LG at Jamsil during the week with a record of 1 win and 2 losses. Although all three games were closely contested, they fell short in the final stretch, widening the gap with the top-ranked LG to 3.5 games. The game against NC that day was also a daunting match. It was a crucial moment as losing the first game at home against NC after 62 days could mean drifting away from the title race.
However, Ryu Hyun-jin revived the team's atmosphere. From the start of the first inning, he allowed a double to Kwon Hee-dong and a timely hit to Kim Joo-won, conceding the first run. But he recorded consecutive strikeouts against Matt Davidson and Park Gun-woo with changeups, preventing further runs. He threw 41 fastballs with a top speed of 147 km/h and an average of 144 km/h, as well as mixed in 19 changeups, 18 curveballs, and 13 cutters. His fastball, which falls across the left and right borders, earned him looking strikeouts, and his trademark changeup dropped sharply, showcasing its power.
It was a game where Ryu Hyun-jin felt a sense of responsibility himself. He had struggled in the previous two games, resulting in a dip in his performance. On the 18th against SSG in Daejeon, he allowed 4 earned runs in 3 innings and couldn't pitch beyond 5 innings for the first time this season, while on the 24th against Lotte in Daejeon, he managed to throw 5 innings with 3 earned runs but faced challenges after giving up 7 hits. Hanwha lost both games, which motivated Ryu Hyun-jin to reflect deeply on that day.
Ryu Hyun-jin said, "In the past two games, I gave up a lot of runs, and I couldn't go beyond 5 innings. My command and velocity were not as good as today, which led to big runs allowed," showing remorse. He also noted, "If a starting pitcher gives up a lot of runs in a short inning and gets pulled, it’s only natural to feel guilty. No one would be smiling in that situation."
He added, "The two foreign pitchers, Cody Ponce and Ryan Weiss, have been performing so well that I believe our domestic starters need to catch up. If the foreigners continue as they are, we can have a truly competitive rotation if the 3rd, 4th, and 5th starters step up as well. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th starters need to do their best."
Hanwha is being led by an unprecedented foreign one-two punch this year. Ponce has an outstanding record of 8 wins and no losses in 12 games (79 innings) with an earned run average of 1.94, while Weiss is stable with a record of 7 wins and 2 losses in 12 games (75⅓ innings) with an earned run average of 3.35. The 3rd starter, Ryu Hyun-jin, also has impressive stats with 5 wins and 2 losses in 12 games (66⅓ innings) and an earned run average of 3.12, though he faced ups and downs in the last two games. Eom Sang-baek has struggled with 1 win and 4 losses in 8 games (32⅓ innings), resulting in a trip to the minors, while Moon Dong-ju has shown decent performance with 5 wins and 2 losses in 10 games (51⅓ innings) but was removed from the first-team roster after allowing 6 earned runs in the 5th inning against Lotte on the 25th for rest.
Ryu Hyun-jin himself acknowledged his deficiencies and called for domestic starters to step up. He pointed out that if they improve, it will lessen the bullpen's burden and continue the competition at the top of the standings. He pledged to do his best publicly, considering the whole team.
Ryu Hyun-jin, who has been leading the team from behind the scenes, is now actively demonstrating his leadership. On the 25th during the Lotte game, he even gathered the position players in front of the dugout for a meeting during the 6th inning switch between offense and defense. They had initially led 6-0 but allowed 6 runs in the 5th inning, tying the game. While they did not allow further runs in the 6th, there was a throwing error by third baseman Roh Si-hwan, indicating a lapse in the players' concentration. Ryu Hyun-jin revived the atmosphere through the meeting and quickly regained the lead by scoring another run in the 6th inning. Hanwha won the game 8-7 after an extra-inning battle.
Regarding that meeting, Ryu Hyun-jin recalled, "I felt that we needed to change the atmosphere. After leading 6-0, we allowed the game to be tied in one inning, and in the next inning, (Roh) Si-hwan made an error. I wanted to instill a sense of urgency in the players because of those plays," and added, "We weren’t losing yet, and since you all (the infielders) played really well from the 1st to the 5th inning, I told them to play comfortably." If the game had turned around that day, the shock of blowing a 6-run lead could have caused the team to slide down significantly. However, after Ryu Hyun-jin's meeting, they won by the skin of their teeth, and again this week, marked by Ryu Hyun-jin's strong performance, Hanwha overcame another crucial moment. Ryu Hyun-jin's presence emerges clearly in moments of crisis.
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