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After suffering a three-game sweep at the hands of the last-place Kiwoom Heroes to start the second half of the season, the Hanwha Eagles are looking to break their losing streak, led by ace pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, who has just achieved a combined 2,500 strikeouts in his career across Korea and the U.S.

Reporter Yu Byeongmin has the latest.

[Reporter]

Sixth-place Hanwha faces a critical situation in its pursuit of a postseason berth after dropping three straight games to the bottom-ranked Kiwoom to open the second half.

The team is pinning its hopes on ace Ryu Hyun-jin to end the slump.

After a scoreless first inning, Ryu allowed three consecutive hits in the second, giving up the first run of the game. Facing a no-out, runners-on-first-and-third jam, he showcased his signature versatile pitching style.

He struck out Kwon Hyeok-bin with a fast fastball, marking a historic milestone as the first Korean pitcher to reach 2,500 career strikeouts in Korea and the U.S. combined. He then extinguished the threat by striking out the next batter, Yeo Dong-wook, with a changeup, and fanning Chu Jae-hyun with a curveball.

The offense also stepped up to support the ace's stellar performance.

In the bottom of the third with one out and the bases loaded, Roh Si-hwan blasted a grand slam over the left-field fence, instantly turning the game around. In the fourth, Peraza hit a massive two-run homer over the Monster Wall—his first hit of the second half—sending the crowd at Daejeon Baseball Stadium into a frenzy.

With two more runs added in the fifth, Ryu was relieved in the sixth with one out after allowing three additional runs. The bullpen has since prevented further scoring, and Hanwha is currently leading in the sixth inning, closing in on ending its three-game losing streak.

(Video Editing: Park Ki-deok)