"The most five strikeouts in one game ever." 30.7 billionth batter, all of them swinging in scoring position

*This content was translated by AI.

"If Noh Si-hwan only hit once or twice in the scoring position..."

Any Hanwha Eagles fan would have thought like this. Hanwha lost 4-9 at home against KT Wiz at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 31st of last month, losing for the first time after two consecutive wins.

Noh Si-hwan (26) also started as the fourth batter and third baseman on the same day. There were many opportunities to accomplish the troubleshooter task assigned by the team. With runners on first and third bases with one out in the first inning, with two outs in the third inning, with runners on first and second in the fifth inning, with two outs in the seventh inning, and with runners on first and second in the seventh inning, it was a chance to score points with runners on second or higher. However, the result was a strikeout in all four at-bats. He came out as the first hitter in the ninth inning and struck out even when there was no runner.

Five strikeouts in five at-bats. According to the 2026 KBO Almanac, it is the highest strikeout tie in a game. Starting with Kim Moo-jong (then Haitai) in 1985, Kim Young-woong (Samsung) had a total of 22 strikeouts in one game last year. It was also a new record for Roh Si-hwan, who exceeded four strikeouts against Incheon SSG on June 28, 2025.

Since the opening of this season, Noh has recorded three hits in 16 at-bats for 15 (batting average of 0.200), one RBI, and one walk in three games. The number of strikeouts is eight, the most among all 10 teams.

If you're a home run hitter, you'll usually get a strikeout. Unfortunately, however, there are many strikeouts at the critical moment. This season, he struck out six with two hits and a walk in a total of 11 scoring chances.

Nor did the opposing team focus on a specific pitch by seeing Noh's weaknesses. Of the eight strikeouts, three were fastball and the rest were all breaking balls. In particular, in the game against KT on the 31st, all five strikeouts and pitches were different. It is also notable that the last balls with eight strikeouts were all swings and misses, not rookies.

Noh Si-hwan is a key hitter who cannot be left out of Hanwha's batting lineup. Since joining the team in 2019, he has hit 124 home runs in seven years until last year. In 2023, he won two home runs (31) and RBIs (101), and has emerged as a representative Korean slugger. Therefore, Hanwha gave him the largest non-FA (free agent) multi-year contract ever worth up to 30.7 billion won for 11 years after last season.

Ahead of the KT match on the 31st, Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon said, "(No) Si-hwan is getting better than the first time. It would be nice to have a synergy effect like Kang Baek-ho," he said, still expressing expectations. Now they have only played three games since the opening. I wonder when Noh Si-hwan will be able to regain the pride of the fourth hitter and 30.7 billion heavyweights.

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*This content was translated by AI.