Hanwha Eagles’ Ryu Hyun-jin is taking a rest at the end of the first half and stands on the verge of a milestone. The club removed Ryu from the first-team roster on July 6 (a non-game day) to give him time off; in the first half he posted 8–2, 87 2/3 innings, 70 strikeouts and a 2.67 ERA across 15 appearances. With 1,565 K in the KBO and 934 K in MLB, his combined total stands at 2,499 — just one strikeout shy of 2,500. He had warmed up to start on July 5 but the game was rained out, and the club removed 14 players ahead of the first-half finale to prepare for the second half.