'39-year-old' Ryu Hyun-jin overcame errors too: "Ace-level pitching"... Tied for first in wins, ERA drops to 2.97 [Busan]

*This content was translated by AI.

The Lotte Giants were no giants before Ryu Hyun-jin (39, Hanwha Eagles). Led by Ryu Hyun-jin, who displayed the demeanor of a perfect killer, Hanwha secured a satisfying victory.

Ryu Hyun-jin took the mound as the starter against the Lotte Giants at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 5th in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League away game, throwing 86 pitches over 6 innings for a perfect outing with 3 hits allowed, no walks, 2 strikeouts, and 2 runs allowed (both unearned).

Although he gave up 2 runs, both were unearned. Ryu Hyun-jin achieved his fifth quality start of the season (7 innings or more with 3 or fewer earned runs) and recorded his fifth consecutive win, improving his record to 7 wins and 2 losses. His ERA dropped from 3.28 to 2.97. He now sits in third place in the ERA category, behind Ariel Jurado (Samsung, 2.61) in first and Adam Oller (KIA, 2.63).

With 7 wins, Ryu Hyun-jin also tied for first place in the wins category alongside Anders Tolhurst (LG) and Caleb Boushley (KT).

Ryu Hyun-jin started off nicely by recording three consecutive outs in the first inning, all via pitcher's grounders that he fielded himself. In the second inning, he allowed a hit with one out but induced weak contact with aggressive pitching to finish the inning without allowing a run. The third inning ended with three consecutive outs.

The fourth inning left something to be desired. He struck out Go Seung-min with a sweeper that broke away outside, but catcher Choi Jae-hoon failed to catch the ball, allowing a runner to reach first base on a strikeout that was not an out. He induced a ground ball to the shortstop from Victor Reyes to retire the lead runner, seemingly catching his breath, but with two outs and a runner on first, Moon Hyun-bin failed to field a ball hit to the left side by Kim Min-seong, allowing the runner from first to score.

Ryu Hyun-jin expressed some regret but remained composed. He ended the inning by throwing his signature outside changeup to Son Ho-young, inducing a ground ball to the shortstop.

He shut down the fifth inning with three consecutive outs again. His pitch count through five innings was only 63. He recorded two outs easily in the sixth, but he could not afford to let his guard down. Shortstop Sim Woo-jun failed to field a ground ball from Reyes, allowing a runner to reach base, and he gave up a double to Na Seung-yeop, allowing another run, as in the fourth inning. This time, he cleared the danger himself. He threw a cutter high and outside to Kim Min-seong, inducing a swinging strikeout to end the inning.

He has been pitching aggressively and efficiently, allowing just one walk in his last three games. His fast pitching tempo has also boosted the fielders' concentration, and this momentum has led to a virtuous cycle of five consecutive wins.

Even today, his fastball did not reach the maximum speed of 148 km/h, which is not enough to overwhelm batters, but he displayed smart pitching by combining precise control, aggressive pitching based on that control, and breaking balls that caught batters off guard.

After the game, manager Kim Kyung-moon praised, "Ryu Hyun-jin delivered ace-level pitching, which allowed our offense to create scoring opportunities."

He also did not hide his praise for the batting lineup that provided solid run support. Regarding Feraza, who recorded 3 hits in 4 at-bats with 1 walk, 3 RBIs, and 2 runs scored, including a go-ahead home run, and Moon Hyun-bin, who recorded 2 hits in 4 at-bats with 2 RBIs, he said, "With Feraza and Moon Hyun-bin's batting form coming back to life, we were able to score runs and maintain momentum in our offense."

Especially, he has been dominating whenever he faces Lotte. On September 10 last year, Ryu Hyun-jin recorded a scoreless victory with 6 innings, 2 hits allowed, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts. This season, on April 18, he recorded a scoreless victory with 7 innings, 4 hits allowed, no walks, and 3 strikeouts. Today, although he allowed 2 runs, both were unearned, securing a win in his third consecutive game against Lotte with unearned runs only.

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*This content was translated by AI.