Not the LG as before, Ryu Hyun-jin's complete 8-2 victory over Hanwha

The LG Twins defeated the Hanwha Eagles in the "2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League" held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 23rd, 8-2 after successfully attacking Ryu. Ryu allowed six hits, three walks, five runs and two earned runs in three ⅔ innings, allowing two outs in the fourth inning with two outs. Second baseman Moon Hyun-bin's error after the walk returned to the critical hit. Ryu was taken off the mound after receiving three consecutive hits. LG had a meaningful victory over Ryu, his nemesis, from 2006 to 2012.

Jung Eun-won (left fielder) - Jonathan Peraza (right fielder) - Ahn Chi-hong (designated hitter) - Roh Si-hwan (third baseman) - Chae Eun-sung (1st baseman), Moon Hyun-bin (2nd baseman), Kim Kang-min (center fielder) - Ha Ju-seok (striker) - Choi Jae-hoon (catcher), starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin

Veteran center fielder Kim Kang-min, who was drafted in the second round, started in the opening game. "I had some anxiety (about leaving the defense of the center fielder to young players) for a big game called the opening game. The lineup can be described as focusing on defense. Fortunately, the opponent team's starting pitcher is a left-handed pitcher (ENS), and Jamsil Baseball Stadium is also large. It has been four to five years since Peraza went from infield to outfield, but not long since Jung Eun-won joined the team. That's why we sent Kim to center field because we had a consensus that we should play a stable defense during the opening game," coach Choi Won-ho said.

As for Ryu, he said, "I am thinking about 90 pitches in general. I have prepared to throw that many pitches during the build-up process. I thought that was okay. Since the decision to replace him does not go according to the number of pitches, he may get off earlier than that. If I throw a lot, I think I will throw about 90 pitches."

Park Hae-min (center fielder), Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Kim Hyun-soo (designated hitter), Austin Dean (first baseman), Oh Ji-hwan (striker), Park Dong-won (catcher), Moon Sung-joo (left fielder), Koo Bon-hyuk (third baseman), Shin Min-jae (second baseman), starting pitcher Detrick Ens

He has not changed his starting lineup against Ryu. The main lineup, which only consists of seven left-handed hitters, remains the same. "This year will be the same. This is our starting lineup that was created last year," manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said. "Attacks come first. I think our hitters can attack (with strong balls) in the beginning."

"Ryu Hyun-jin is a pitcher with ball control. It is not easy if he tries to target both left and right sides. Success depends on how much he can target even with just one side. Ryu is not a pitcher who fights up and down. As a pitcher who fights left and right, it is not easy to hit both sides. He has to choose the place he can hit well," he said.

In the bottom of the second inning, LG scored the first run with three consecutive hits after two outs in the offense. With two outs and a runner on the first base, Park Dong-won and Moon Sung-joo made consecutive hits to load the bases. In the meantime, the ninth batter Shin Min-jae hit a timely two-run homer.

In the bottom of the fourth inning when the team was struggling 2-2, LG got on base four times in a row, starting with a walk by eighth batter Moon Sung-joo, and scored a massive amount of runs. After Shin Min-jae got on base with a walk, Park Hae-min hit a timely hit to regain the lead by attacking the first pitch. Hong Chang-ki then hit a timely hit with two RBIs in the full count, and Kim Hyun-soo also saved the flow with a hit. Ryu left the mound after giving five runs with two outs in the fourth inning.

LG, which sent Ryu Hyun-jin down, also scored an additional run in the fifth inning. The leadoff hitter Oh Ji-hwan created a chance to score himself with a hit to the left-center and a stolen base to the second base. Moon Bo-kyung's grounder to the first base made it to the third base with one out, and Park Dong-won hit an RBI grounder to the third base. Third baseman Roh Si-hwan caught the ball, but failed to throw it home, leading to LG's scoring.

When Ryu Hyun-jin went down, the Hanwha Eagles' lineup seemed to lose strength. After getting on base 10 times with seven hits and three walks through the fourth inning, the Hanwha Eagles stepped down from the mound in the fifth and sixth innings with three outs in a row. In the seventh inning as well, the Eagles' second pitcher Kim Jin-sung blocked the team with three outs.

LG, which had been in the lead, continued to maintain the mood. It took the lead 7-2 with Moon Bo-kyung's hit after one out, Park Dong-won's walk on base, and Shin Min-jae's timely hit to the center field with two outs. In the eighth inning, it added another run due to Kim Hyun-soo's walk, pinch runner Choi Seung-min's steal of second base, and Austin's timely hit to the right-center field. Thanks to Austin's hit, LG had a hit in all of its starters from the opening game. It was the first hit in the KBO League in 2024, the first in the team's history, and the 1,077th in the KBO League history.

Detrick Ence became a winning pitcher with seven hits, two walks, four strikeouts and two runs in six innings in his KBO regular season debut.

N.S. threw 89 pitches in the opening game. He pitched 41 pitches, recording speeds of 151 kilometers per hour. The cutter, which is the main weapon against right-handed hitters, amounted to 29. He threw 10 curves and three sliders, and Changeup, which is currently being honed with new weapons, pitched six pitches.

Runners continued through the fourth inning. In the first inning, he gave up an infield hit to the second baseman, Peraza, to avoid a run-scoring situation by blocking Park Dong-won from stealing a base. In the second inning, Roh Si-hwan was given a walk and Chae Eun-seong was given a double hit, but the team failed to lose a point. The LG infield blocked Moon Hyun-bin's attempt to sacrifice bunt. With runners at the first and second bases with one out, Kim Kang-min was blocked with a double play by shortstop to finish the inning.

The first run came in the third inning when the team was leading 2-0. N.S. allowed a double that fell to the right of the right field to Ha Ju-seok, the leadoff hitter, and Choi Jae-hoon to hit to the right. With one out, Peraza had an RBI double. Still, with runners on the second and third bases with one out, he did not yield timely hits against An Chi-hong and Roh Si-hwan and maintained his lead.

There was a risk of losing a lot of points in the fourth inning, but the inning ended with one run. Chae Eun-seong's hit, Moon Hyun-bin's walk, and Kim Kang-min's hit caused a crisis of losing a lot of bases-loaded material with no outs. Ens blocked Ha Ju-seok with a grounder to the pitcher and blocked the third base runner from scoring. Choi allowed a tie by giving a hit ball at the ball count of 0-2, but failed to give an additional point when the bases were loaded with one out. Jung Eun-won grounded out to the second base and Ferraza struck out with a swing and miss.

After LG's comeback, the team garnered two consecutive three-out innings to gain momentum. N.C.E.N. threw three outs in the fifth inning against An Chi-hong, Noh Si-hwan and Chae Eun-seong, and Moon Hyun-bin, Kim Kang-min and Ha Ju-seok in the sixth inning, before handing the ball to Kim Jin-seong in the seventh inning. Kim Jin-seong blocked Hanwha's lineup with three outs, and Park Myung-geun, who appeared in the eighth inning, also played his part by throwing three outs.

BY: 토토사이트