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▲ Ryu Hyun-jin carried a perfect game through five innings but saw it collapse in the sixth, leaving the contest in disappointing fashion. ⓒ Hanwha Eagles
[SPOTV News — Daejeon, Kim Tae-woo] Ryu Hyun-jin (39, Hanwha) watched a perfect outing through five innings end on a surprise bunt. Hanwha then committed a costly defensive error and surrendered control of the game. The sequence exposed how thin the club’s margin for error has become, and many home fans left early, unable to watch the finish.
On the 30th at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark, Ryu started against SSG and retired every batter through five innings, not allowing a single baserunner. It was the kind of outing that could have energized a team that’s struggled recently.
He attacked the inner corner against right-handed hitters with pinpoint command and mixed in a variety of off-speed pitches, limiting balls to the outfield.
In the first inning Ryu induced Park Seong-han and An Sang-hyun into grounders to second and sent Choi Jeong to right for a flyout. In the second he got Eredia to fly out to right, Han Yu-seom to a foul fly to left, and Kim Seong-wook to a grounder to third. In the third he struck out Choi Ji-hoon swinging, forced Oh Tae-gon into a grounder to short, and got Cho Hyung-woo to ground out to second.
▲ Ryu carried the perfect game into the fifth but saw it end on Choi Ji-hoon’s surprise bunt in the sixth. He then gave up a string of hits and finished with 5 2/3 innings, six hits, two walks, four strikeouts and six runs (four earned). ⓒ Hanwha Eagles
In the fourth he induced a pitcher’s grounder from Park Seong-han and struck out An Sang-hyun and Choi Jeong. In the fifth, center fielder Lee Won-seok made a sliding catch on a line drive that looked like an extra-base hit, and Ryu then struck out Han Yu-seom and got Choi Jun-woo to ground out to third to preserve the perfect game through five innings.
But leading 1-0 in the sixth, Ryu saw the perfect game end on a bunt down the third-base line by Choi Ji-hoon. While conventional wisdom discourages bunting into a perfect game, the situation — one-run game in the sixth, not the late innings — made the play reasonable. Hanwha was unprepared for Choi, a fast runner who can bunt at any time. That lack of anticipation proved costly.
Once the perfect game was gone, Ryu gave up a double down the right-field line to Oh Tae-gon and suddenly faced runners on second and third with no outs. The momentum shifted. Cho Hyung-woo followed with an RBI single to tie the game, and with runners at the corners he then surrendered another RBI single to Park Seong-han. In a matter of moments, a pitcher who had been perfect through five innings allowed four consecutive hits in the sixth.
SSG seized the lead when An Sang-hyun laid down a sacrifice bunt to produce a 1-out, 2-3 situation. Rather than challenge Choi Jeong — who has given Ryu trouble in the past — Hanwha issued an intentional walk to load the bases. Ryu’s changeup to Eredia, however, caught too much of the plate and Eredia pulled it into a two-run single. Suddenly SSG led 4-1.
▲ Hanwha catcher Choi Jae-hoon’s errant throw to third, followed by a third baseman who failed to corral the ball, allowed a runner who should have been out to advance to third. ⓒ Hanwha Eagles
With one out and runners on first and second, Hanwha then committed a defensive error. Eredia broke for second while Choi Jeong at second didn’t move immediately; when Choi finally ran for third, Choi Jae-hoon’s throw bounced. It wasn’t a huge hop, but third baseman Noh Si-hwan failed to field it cleanly, and Choi Jeong — essentially a dead runner — reached third. Eredia scrambled back to first.
Both Choi Jae-hoon and Noh Si-hwan were at fault. Choi’s throw was off, and Noh didn’t properly check the runner. With one out and runners at first and third, Han Yu-seom drew a walk to load the bases. Two batters later, Choi Ji-hoon — the same player who ended the perfect game — delivered a two-run single to center. SSG erupted for six runs in the sixth and seized control. Ryu, unable to settle down, was relieved by Lee Min-woo and removed from the game.
A lack of bunt preparedness, Ryu’s sudden unraveling and defensive miscues combined to produce an unmanageable situation. Ryu finished with 5 2/3 innings, six hits, two walks, four strikeouts and six runs (four earned).
The game wasn’t done. Hanwha rallied for two runs in the seventh and trailed 3-7 entering the eighth — still within reach. But with no outs and a runner on first, Ha Ju-seok misplayed a grounder up the middle by Choi Ji-hoon, allowing the ball to get past him. It was an avoidable error.
Instead of a double-play that would have ended the threat, Hanwha suddenly faced runners at first and third with no outs. Oh Tae-gon hit a sacrifice fly, Park Seong-han drew a walk, Jung Joon-jae followed with an RBI single, and Choi Jeong crushed a three-run homer that erased any remaining hope. After Choi’s blast effectively decided the game, Hanwha fans began heading for the exits.
▲ In the eighth, Ha Ju-seok’s costly error extinguished Hanwha’s final hope. ⓒ Hanwha Eagles
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