Ryu Hyun-jin (36-Toronto Blue Jays) continued his good form with another solid outing. But the offense and bullpen didn’t help him at all.
On Sunday (July 7), Ryu threw 77 pitches in five innings of work against the Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum in Oakland, California, giving up two runs on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts.
With five consecutive five-inning starts, Ryu has seen his ERA rise from 2.48 to 2.65. However, he has pitched well since his four-hit shutout against Cleveland on May 8, allowing two earned runs or less in all six games.
On the day, Ryu averaged 88.9 mph on his fastball, 0.6 mph above his season average. With the increase in velocity, Ryu increased the proportion of his body cutter to 30% of his pitches, inducing false swings with the cutter itself, while also increasing the power of his changeup.
However, the team fell to 2-5, and Ryu suffered his second loss of the season. Toronto’s three-game winning streak came to an end, as did the team’s five-game winning streak when Ryu started. Oakland, which ranks last in the majors in winning percentage (.302), snapped a two-game losing streak.
Starting lineups for Toronto at Oakland on September 7th
- Toronto: George Springer (designated hitter), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (first base), Davis Schneider (second base), Whit Merrifield (left field), Cavan Biggio (right field), Santiago Espinal (third base), Ernie Clement (shortstop), Dalton Bashaw (center field), Tyler Heineman (catcher). The starting pitcher is Hyun-Jin Ryu.
- Oakland: Zack Gelbrecht (second base)-Brent Rooker (left field)-Ryan Noda (right field)-Jordan Diaz (designated hitter)-Carlos Perez (catcher)-Kevin Smith (third base)-Jonah Bride (first base)-Nick Allen (shortstop)-Estheri Ruiz (center field). The starting pitcher is J.P. Sears.
Toronto placed catcher Danny Jansen, who has played the most games with Ryu (41), on the disabled list (IL) with a fractured finger. As a result, Ryu will be platooning with Heinemann for the first time.
1st and 2nd innings: ‘Vintage Ryu’ continues, striking out two in a row
Ryu struck out the top of the order in the first inning. After getting Zach Gelfand to fly out to center field, he got Brent Rooker to ground out on a 90.7-mile-per-hour fastball. It was a potentially dangerous pitch, but he followed it up with a changeup and cutter to make it untouchable. He then induced a grounder to Ryan Noda at first base, but Ryu quickly dropped into double play to get the out.
In the bottom of the inning, Ryu struck out leadoff batter Jordan Diaz and then got Carlos Perez to ground out to third. Kevin Smith followed with a changeup and induced a grounder to shortstop to retire the next three batters. It was the Ryu Jinda-un style of pitching: take away timing with a curveball, make them flinch with a cutter, and then induce a hit with a changeup.
Meanwhile, the Toronto bats got on the board first. After a leadoff double by Cavan Biggio in the top of the second, Toronto scored a run one inning later on Ernie Clement’s single to right. Two batters later, Tyler Heinemann walked to load the bases but was unable to score.
Third and fourth innings: A series of close calls, but ultimately a walk-off home run by Yu Darvish.
The cruising Hyun-jin Ryu ran into his first trouble in the third inning. Jonah Bride led off with a grounder to shortstop, giving Nick Allen his first hit of the game. He induced Esterly Ruiz to fly out to right field for the second out, but allowed Allen to steal second. But after a seven-pitch battle with Geloff, Ryu got a cutter on the outside of the plate for the third out.
Ryu had gotten out of one jam, but he couldn’t get out of the second. After giving up a leadoff double to Rooker, he was thrown out at second on a good play by first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Diaz followed with a fly ball to right field, but Perez got a good look at a body fastball and hit it for a two-run homer to left field.
A shaken Ryu gave up back-to-back singles and a walk to put runners on first and second again. Fortunately, Allen grounded out to shortstop to end the threat.
Fifth inning: Hyun-Jin Ryu gets a ‘rare’ win, but neither the offense nor the bullpen help him out
Ryu gave up a leadoff single to Ruiz in the fifth, but struck out Geloff and Rooker in succession, the latter with four cutters on similar courses. Meanwhile, Ruiz stole second and third to put runners on the corners, but he got Noda to fly out to center to end the fifth inning.토스카지노
After throwing 77 pitches through five innings, Ryu handed the mound to right-hander Trevor Richards in the sixth. With his team trailing 1-2, Ryu’s bid for a fourth win of the season came to an end.
While Ryu was on the mound, the Toronto offense was unable to capitalize, scoring just one run in two innings. In the end, Ryu left the game in the sixth inning with the score 1-2 and no one in scoring position. To make matters worse, Richards gave up a three-run homer to Smith in the bottom of the sixth after putting runners on first and second with no outs.
Toronto wasn’t going to go quietly. In the top of the eighth, Toronto pulled