"Let's throw a lot of strikes," Ryu Hyun-jin and Noh Kyung-eun proved, the reality of the national team without Noh Kyung-eun State, Won Tae-in and O'Brien.

*This content was translated by AI.

Ryu Hyun-jin (39, Hanwha Eagles) and Noh Kyung-eun (42, SSG Landers).

Opinions were divided over the two veterans included in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team's Saipan 1st camp list. However, Ryu Ji-hyun (55), the coach of the national team, was firm. They confirmed that pitchers, who showed tremendous pressure in the KBO League, were shaken greatly when they left the well and decided that experienced pitchers were needed.

It was immediately confirmed why such a decision was made. Ryu Hyun-jin and Noh Kyung-eun pitched the most stable game against the Hanshin Tigers at Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan on the 2nd. Earlier, Ryu Hyun-jin asked his juniors to "throw a lot of strikes." The victim wanted to make a confident pitch rather than pitch, but the two veterans proved this in the game.

Ryu Hyun-jin will be on the World Baseball Classic (WBC) stage for the first time in 17 years since 2009. Noh Kyung-eun is also wearing the national flag for the first time since the 2013 competition.

Although they are not experienced pitchers in the national team recently, they could never ignore an official record. He also pitched well against last year's Central League winner.

Starting pitcher Kwak Bin (Doosan) blocked the first inning with three outs, but he was withdrawn after giving up three runs in the second inning due to a finger problem. It was Noh Kyung-eun who took the mound in the third inning. He blocked the inning with three outs with an aggressive pitch.

Son Joo-young (LG) was responsible for the fourth inning and Ko Young-pyo (KT) for the fifth inning, but neither of them allowed a walk and a hit.

Ryu Hyun-jin took the mound in the sixth inning. Unlike the KBO League, Ryu Hyun-jin displayed his own strengths in the absence of an ABS (automatic ball-strike judgment system). As if checking the umpire's zone, he checked the zone by spraying the ball all over the course, and the fastball speed was only in the mid-140km/h, but he was confused with Hanshin batters by adjusting the speed with breaking balls such as slow curves and changeups in the 100km range. In the end, he erased the inning with three ground balls in the sixth inning.

Ryu Hyun-jin, who also took the mound in the seventh inning, caught the previous two batters with ground balls. He also induced the third batter to hit a ground ball, but the course was exquisite, making it a hit. However, Ryu Hyun-jin once again ended the inning with a fly ball to shortstop with an aggressive and seasoned pitch.

Park Young-hyun (KT) in the eighth inning and Kim Taek-yeon (Doosan) in the ninth inning also did not lose any points, but they showed some anxiety. Ryu Hyun-jin and Noh Kyung-eun's pitches were bound to shine more.

Japan also paid attention to Ryu Hyun-jin's pitching. Japanese media Sponizia Nex said, "Managing a perfect game: The Essence of 'guiding ground balls'." Ryu Hyun-jin also said, "The results came out as I thought. I'm not the type of pitcher who strikes out, so the more ground balls come out, the better the result, but that's how the game went today."

Ryu Hyun-jin said to his juniors, "If the pitchers hold out like today, we will be able to play a good game," adding, "Rather than giving a large number of runs to Han In-n, we should stop them with one point each even if we give them a point. If we prepare like that, we have a good chance of winning the finals," he advised.

Along with the two outstanding starting resources of Moon Dong-ju (Hanwha) and Won Tae-in (Samsung), Riley Jun-young O'Brien (St. Louis), who was considered the closing candidate, also left due to injury. The shoulders of two veterans, Ryu Hyun-jin and Noh Kyung-eun, are getting heavier.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.