"I could only see third base."" It's worth losing 9kg, 3 siblings, and dad. Final triple → 4th stolen base already! KT has won five consecutive games [the site of a water source]

*This content was translated by AI.

It is not easy for a father of three siblings to go on a diet. Nevertheless, Ryu Ji-hyuk (32, Samsung Lions), who lost 9kg, collapsed KT Wiz with five consecutive wins with a fierce bat.

Samsung beat KT 2-1 in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season visit game held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 3rd.

With this, Samsung, which won three consecutive games, closely chased the top teams with three wins, one draw and two losses. KT, whose winning streak was cut off from five consecutive wins, allowed SSG Landers and NC Dinos to chase with 5 wins and 1 loss. Samsung won the match against foreign starters. Ariel Furado (Samsung) won his first game of the season with five hits (one homer) and one walk, four strikeouts and one run in six innings.

The match was held at the top of the sixth inning when the two teams were 1-1 against each other. With one out, Lewin Diaz opened the scoring with a large double to the central fence. Choi Hyung-woo stepped down with a fly ball to the left field, but Sauer's mistake in the middle was caught by Ryu Ji-hyuk's bat. KT center fielder Choi Won-joon ran desperately and attempted a sliding catch. However, Ryu Ji-hyuk's ball passed by Choi Won-joon by a slight difference and became an RBI timely hit.

Since then, Ryu Ji-hyuk's behavior has been impressive. Ryu Ji-hyuk ran to the third base without looking back at the reception of coach Lee Jong-wook who turned his arm. Ryu Ji-hyuk's uniform quickly became muddy, but it became his first triple of the season with ease.

Ryu Ji-hyuk, who met with reporters after the game, said, "I could only see third base. I just thought I should run. When Choi Won-joon blew himself up, he said, "Don't catch me, don't catch me," but fortunately, he fell to the ground."

Ryu Ji-hyuk, who grounded out in both previous at-bats, also mentioned the advice of Takayuki Murakami (61), Samsung's first-team batting coach. Ryu Ji-hyuk said, "I died twice with a ground ball in the front at-bat. Before entering the batter's box in the sixth inning, coach Murakami said it would be good to take the direction toward left field when batting. He explained, "You always tell me 'Left is your house now', but I think it was really valid."

Ryu Ji-hyuk, who transferred from KIA Tigers to Samsung during the 2023 season, is already in his fourth year of lion corps. He signed a four-year FA contract worth 2.6 billion won after the 2024 season, and played his part last year with a batting average of 0.280 (112 hits in 400 at-bats) in 129 games.

Ahead of this season, Choi Hyung-woo and Kang Min-ho left the country early, built themselves early, and lost 7kg, making headlines. With that lighter movement, he stole second base after a right-handed hit in the top of the ninth inning. It is already his fourth stolen base in six games. In response, Ryu Ji-hyuk said, "I lost 1 to 2 kilograms more weight at the start of the season. Honestly, I don't feel much difference from before, but I think others will know when they see it. I think it's good because my body is definitely lighter."

The veteran, who does not spare himself, has also revitalized the Samsung dugout. On the same day, opposing starting pitcher Matt Sauer also showed impressive performance with a quality start (more than six innings and less than three earned runs) with five hits, two walks and three strikeouts in six innings. However, he experienced his first loss due to the disappointing batting performance, with only two double plays being blocked from stealing. It was also the first loss of KT, which had won five consecutive games.

Ryu Ji-hyuk said, "I don't think I thought about the other team's condition at all. I thought we would have a good result if we did what we had to do, he said. "In fact, Sauer faced each other once during the camp, and I saw that he was in better condition than during the camp. To be honest, I felt embarrassed, but the result was good. I had a hard time solving it in the beginning, but I'm happy to win," he said with a big smile.

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*This content was translated by AI.