'Cannot take eyes off' Ryu Hyun-jin exits after 5 innings, 2 earned runs; Hilaryard's chase home run! Can he reach 200 career wins in Korea and the U.S.? [Suwon]

*This content was translated by AI.

Ryu Hyun-jin (39, Hanwha Eagles) postponed his pursuit of 200 career wins in Korea and the United States to the next opportunity.

On the 17th at Suwon KT Wiz Park, Ryu Hyun-jin started against the visiting KT Wiz in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season, pitching 5 innings, allowing 5 hits, issuing 1 walk, recording 3 strikeouts, and giving up 2 earned runs.

This was a game for his 200th career win. After graduating from Dongsan High School, Ryu was selected by Hanwha with the second pick of the second round in the 2006 KBO Rookie Draft. Prior to this game, he had accumulated 121 wins in the KBO League and 78 wins in Major League Baseball, totaling 199 career wins.

He earned his first professional win on April 12, 2006, in a game against LG Twins at Jamsil. Upon returning to Korea, he recorded his 100th KBO career win on April 30, 2024, in a game against SSG Landers in Daejeon.

Hanwha also sharpened its weapons in anticipation of the veteran's historic milestone. Today, Hanwha lined up its batting order as follows: Noh Si-hwan (third baseman), Yonatan Peraza (right fielder), Moon Hyun-bin (left fielder), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Lee Jin-young (center fielder), Lee Do-yoon (second baseman), Kim Tae-yeon (first baseman), Choi Jae-hoon (catcher), and Sim Woo-jun (shortstop). The starting pitcher was Ryu Hyun-jin.

In response, KT set its batting order as: Choi Won-jun (right fielder), Kim Min-hyuk (left fielder), Kim Hyun-soo (first baseman), Sam Hilaryard (center fielder), Jang Sung-woo (designated hitter), Kim Sang-soo (second baseman), Oh Yun-seok (third baseman), Han Seung-taek (catcher), and Lee Kang-min (shortstop). The starting pitcher was Matt Sauer.

The start was not favorable. In the bottom of the first inning, KT leadoff batter Choi Won-jun targeted the first pitch and hit a double to left-center field. Kim Min-hyuk executed a sacrifice bunt, and a walk was issued to Kim Hyun-soo, resulting in a runner on first and third with one out. Hilaryard then hit a two-run single to center field, and Kim Sang-soo followed with a two-run single to left field, allowing Ryu Hyun-jin to surrender two runs.

He soon found his rhythm. Ryu Hyun-jin mixed cutters and changeups to quickly record outs. He retired all three batters in the third and fourth innings. In the fifth, he retired Han Seung-taek on a fly ball to center field and Lee Kang-min on a ground ball to second base. Although he allowed a single to center field to Choi Won-jun, he struck out Kim Min-hyuk by dropping a curveball just above the strike zone.

Ryu Hyun-jin threw a total of 70 pitches today, mixing his fastest pitch at 146 km/h (34 pitches) with 16 cutters, 13 changeups, and 7 curveballs. Meanwhile, the Hanwha lineup provided four runs of support—three in the top of the fourth and one in the top of the sixth—giving Ryu Hyun-jin the opportunity for the win. If the game had ended at that point, Ryu Hyun-jin would have become the second Korean pitcher to reach 200 career wins in professional baseball, following Song Jin-woo (retired, 210 wins).

However, KT mounted a fierce comeback, making the game thrilling until the very end. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Park Jun-young, a former developmental league player who replaced Ryu Hyun-jin, surrendered a solo home run to Hilaryard over the right-field fence, cutting KT's deficit to one run.

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*This content was translated by AI.