Baseball’s Hanwha Eagles pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin (37) became the 33rd player in KBO history to surpass 100 career wins. Hanwha bounced back from a nightmarish April with a victory to start May off on the right foot.
Hanwha, led by manager Choi Won-ho, won 8-2 at home against SSG Landers in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League on April 30 at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon.
Ryu Hyun-jin earned his second win of the season and 100th career victory with a quality start that allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits with two walks and one strikeout in six innings. He became the 33rd player in KBO history to reach 100 wins in 197 games. Kim Si-jin (186 games). He was the third-fastest pitcher in history to reach 100 wins, behind Sun Dong-yeol (192 games).
After missing the 100-win mark for two games in a row, Ryu earned his first win in the KBO and his 99th career victory at home against Jamsil Doosan on Nov. 11 in Daejeon. With 103 total pitches, Ryu threw over 100 pitches for the first time in 982 days since Aug. 22, 2021, against the Detroit Tigers (105 pitches in seven innings) as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays in Major League Baseball, mixing in changeups (20), curves (18) and cutters (13) with a fastball (52) that topped out at 149 mph and averaged 145 mph.
At the plate, Noh broke an 18-game home run drought with a game-winning, walk-off home run in the fourth inning. He was also stellar at third base, making six ground ball outs, including one double play. Ahn Chi-hong also contributed with two hits, including a three-run double in the seventh inning that drove in the winning run.
Hanwha also sold out all 12,000 seats at Hanwha Life Eagles Park as of 6:33 p.m. on Sunday. It was the 16th consecutive sellout crowd, starting with the season finale against Lotte on Oct. 16 last year. The team extended its KBO League record for the most consecutive home sellouts by four games, surpassing Samsung’s 12 games in 1995.
Despite a rallying cry from fans, Hanwha struggled mightily in April, going 6-17 with a league-low winning percentage (.261). After losing the opening game, the momentum of a seven-game winning streak fizzled out and they dropped from first to eighth place in the standings, but ended the month with Ryu Hyun-jin’s 100th win. With a season 카지노사이트 record of 13-18 and a three-game lead over fifth-place LG (16-15-2), the team is poised for a comeback in May.
After the game, Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho said, “Ryu Hyun-jin pitched skillfully to reach 100 career wins. I believe he will continue to show his true colors with more and better performances as he has achieved a meaningful record. I would like to congratulate him on his 100th KBO win.”
Choi Won-ho added, “It was a game where the center fielders did their job. From Noh’s grand slam home run to Jonathan Peraza and Ahn Chi-hong’s RBI singles, the center fielders did a great job of keeping the game close,” Choi said.
Hanwha announced right-hander Felix Peña as the starter against SSG on May 1. For SSG, underhanded Park Jong-hoon will start.
