Ryu Hyun-jin, 39, donning the Korean national team uniform for the first time in 16 years through the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) squad, completed his first live pitching session with a clean performance.
Ryu started in a practice game against the Hanwha Eagles at Ayase Kochinda Stadium in Okinawa, Japan on the 21st, pitching 2 scoreless innings with one strikeout while allowing no hits and no walks.
A key contributor to Korea's gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Ryu had not played for the national team since the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. He left for Major League Baseball in 2013.
After returning to the KBO League in 2024, he repeatedly expressed his desire to compete in the WBC and finally realized that dream with this national team selection.
Facing batters from his own club Hanwha, Ryu delivered near-perfect pitching. He struck out leadoff hitter Lee Won-seok, then retired Yonathan Peraza on an infield grounder and Kang Baek-ho on an outfield fly ball.
In the second inning, he retired Chae Eun-seong on an infield grounder, Han Ji-yoon on a line drive to third base, and Ha Ju-seok on a grounder to second base to complete his outing. He threw a total of 19 pitches, topped out at 142 km/h on his fastball, and worked on his changeup, curveball, and cutter.
Hanwha started left-handed pitcher Wang Yan-cheng, a former Taiwan national team member serving as their Asian quota player. Wang pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and recording one strikeout while showcasing a fastball reaching 149 km/h.
The national team fell behind 2-0 in the fourth inning when their second pitcher Song Seung-gi (LG Twins) allowed a sacrifice fly to Chae Eun-seong and an RBI single to Han Ji-yoon.
In the sixth inning, with one out and a runner on third, Ahn Hyun-min (kt wiz) hit an RBI groundout and Koo Ja-wook (Samsung Lions) followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 2-2. Then in the seventh inning—the final frame—with runners on first and second and no outs, Kim Joo-won (NC Dinos) hit a three-run homer off Hwang Jun-seo to lead a 5-2 comeback victory.
Kim Joo-won, who started as the ninth batter at shortstop, went 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs. The national team will rest on the 22nd before playing their third practice game in Okinawa against Hanwha at Kadena Stadium on the 23rd.