'Second in Batting Average' Ryu Ji-hyuk Suffers Unexpected Injury, 17-Game Hitting Streak Ends → Substituted After Finishing At-Bat in Pain [Jamsil On-Site]

*This content was translated by AI.

Samsung Lions key hitter Ryu Ji-hyuk (32) was substituted during the game due to an unexpected injury, bringing his recent 17-game consecutive hit streak to a sad end.

On the 29th, Ryu Ji-hyuk started as the cleanup hitter and second baseman in the game against the Doosan Bears at Seoul Jamsil Stadium. Batting leadoff in the bottom of the second inning with the score tied 0-0, he hit the fifth pitch, a fastball, from Doosan's starting pitcher Jacklog with a 3-1 count, but the ball went foul and struck his right knee above the protective guard. Ryu Ji-hyuk immediately collapsed to the ground, his face contorted in pain, and remained unable to get up for some time.

He returned to the plate shortly afterward but grimaced in severe pain. Struck out on a line drive to the third baseman on the sixth pitch, Ryu Ji-hyuk limped back to the dugout.

Samsung announced before the bottom of the second inning defense that "Ryu Ji-hyuk was substituted for Yang Woo-hyun due to a contusion on the area of his right knee without a protective guard. He will be applying ice packs while monitoring the situation." Shortstop Sim Jae-hoon moved to second base, and Yang Woo-hyun took over at shortstop.

Ryu Ji-hyuk had played in 25 games this season through the previous day, recording 37 hits in 96 at-bats with a .385 batting average, leading the team's offense. He ranked second in both batting average and hits, trailing only Park Sung-han of the SSG Landers.

Notably, he had recorded consecutive hits in 17 games from the KIA Tigers game on the 7th through the Doosan game on the 28th. This was the current longest consecutive game hitting streak, following Park Sung-han's 22-game streak recorded after the season opener. However, on this day, Ryu Ji-hyuk failed to get a hit after completing one at-bat, sadly bringing his streak to an end.

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

*This content was translated by AI.