The NC Dinos of professional baseball ran a three-game winning streak with a fortunate rain-cold victory. Shin Min-hyeok, thanks to the rain-cold, achieved his first complete game victory in his debut.

NC won 4-1 in the fifth inning rain-cold game against their opponents in the regular season match of the '2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League' held at Changwon NC Park on the 13th. Thus, NC extended their three-game winning streak, following a record of 2 wins and 1 tie against Kiwoom earlier in the week.

Shin Min-hyeok, who started the game, pitched 5 innings, allowing 5 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, and striking out 1 while giving up 1 run. With the declaration of the rain-cold victory, Shin Min-hyeok achieved a fortunate complete game victory, marking his first complete game in his debut.

Shin Min-hyeok threw 77 pitches that day, with 51 strikes and 26 balls. He utilized 18 fastballs with a top speed of 141 km/h, 18 cutters, and 14 forkballs. The pitch he used most frequently was the changeup, with 26 instances. He didn’t allow a single runner up to one out in the third inning. After allowing a hit, he overcame the challenge himself.

In particular, he allowed a solo home run to Park Chan-ho in the fourth inning and subsequently gave up consecutive hits to Kim Tae-gun and Kim Gyu-seong from the lower batting order, putting him in a one-out, two-on-base crisis, but he showcased his ability to manage the situation by inducing a double play from Lee Chang-jin.

In terms of the batting lineup, Lee Ho-jun's adjustments paid off. The batting order contributed evenly. Lead-off hitter Kim Joo-won had 1 hit in 2 at-bats with 1 walk, 1 stolen base, and 2 runs scored. The number two hitter, Kwon Hee-dong, also had 1 hit in 2 at-bats, 1 RBI, 1 walk, and 2 runs scored, effectively serving as a table setter. The core hitters Park Min-woo, Davidson, and Park Gun-woo all recorded RBIs, fulfilling their roles as key players.

In the first inning, NC took the lead with a hit from Kim Joo-won and a timely double from Kwon Hee-dong. Following a sacrifice bunt by Park Min-woo, Davidson delivered a timely hit, extending the lead to 2-0.

Despite allowing a solo home run to Park Chan-ho in the top of the fourth inning, NC solidified their lead with a timely double from Park Min-woo and a sacrifice fly from Park Gun-woo in the bottom of the fifth inning, leading to a stoppage due to rain at approximately 8:25 p.m. After waiting for 47 minutes, the rain-cold was announced at 9:12 p.m.

After the game, Lee Ho-jun praised, "Starting pitcher Shin Min-hyeok held the team's core well in today's game. There was pressure with many pitchers appearing yesterday, but Shin Min-hyeok did an excellent job as a starting pitcher with good pitching."

He added, "The table setter group fulfilled their roles well, and the core lineup completed the task, creating the most ideal offensive flow. Even in defense, we maintained concentration in each crisis situation, catching the opposing runners and sustaining the team atmosphere."

Furthermore, he expressed, "I sincerely thank the fans for their support despite the rainy weather. We will prepare well for tomorrow's game to show a good performance."

Shin Min-hyeok, who recorded his first complete game victory, stated, "In the early stages of today's game, the strike rate was high, which allowed me to quickly challenge the batters and helped me efficiently carry innings. I focused on forkballs and splitters against right-handed batters, and I think that led to good results."

He also admitted, "However, due to my mistake in pitch composition early in the game, I allowed consecutive hits, which disrupted the flow. I feel very sorry that I could not execute the strategy I had prepared with Kim Hyung-jun before the game."

Although it was a complete game victory, it was not perfect due to the rain-cold. He vowed, "Today is indeed a complete game in the record, but personally, I do not wish to complete a game like this. Next time, I want to maintain the mound until the end with better content and performance," emphasizing, "Above all, I am glad that the team's winning streak continues, and I sincerely thank the fans for their support in the rainy weather."

On the 14th, NC attempts to secure a fourth consecutive victory with young pitcher Shin Young-woo. KIA will have its local ace Yang Hyun-jong as the starting pitcher.

[OSEN]