Ryu gives up 2 runs in 5 innings against Oakland
Allowed two home runs and three stolen bases.
2-5 ‘knees’ in lack of offensive support
2 losses in a row… expected to start against Texas on Sept. 13.
If there’s one thing that hasn’t gone well for “Korean Monster” Hyun-jin Ryu (36-Toronto Blue Jays) in his successful return to Major League Baseball (MLB) 14 months after elbow surgery, it’s his innings. Aside from a four-inning outing against the Cleveland Indians when he was hit by a pitch, he has gone five innings in each of his last five games.
While this could be seen as a gesture of respect from the Toronto coaching staff for the surgically repaired pitcher, he needed to go more than six innings to show that he was back to being a “complete” starter.
Fans were hoping for his first quality start (6+ innings, 3 earned runs or less) since returning from the disabled list on July 7 against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. Oakland has the worst winning percentage in all of MLB and a team batting average of .224.
But once again, Ryu only lasted five innings. After allowing two runs on five hits (one home run) with five strikeouts and one walk in five innings, Ryu turned the mound over to Trevor Richards in the sixth inning with the score 1-2. Richards gave up back-to-back singles in the top of the sixth, followed by a three-run homer to Kevin Smith to extend the lead to 5-1, as Toronto fell to 2-5, sending Ryu to his second loss of the season (3-3). His ERA rose from 2.48 to 2.65. He threw 77 pitches.
After allowing just one hit and no runs through three innings, Ryu gave up a 145.6-mile-per-hour fastball to 2B 2S with two outs in the fourth inning to Carles Perez for a two-run homer to left field. It was the only run of the night. The home run was the most disappointing of the night, as he was able to keep the rest of the inning scoreless.
Ryu, who has only allowed eight stolen bases in his 10 years in the big leagues because of his left-handedness and simplicity of delivery that makes it difficult for runners to time their steals, allowed three on the day. Part of this was due to starting catcher Danny Jansen being sidelined with a broken finger and playing with backup catcher Tyler Heinemann, and part of it was due to Esther Lewis, who stole two bases and now leads the MLB with 58 stolen bases, including this one.
After the game, Toronto manager John Schneider said, “This is the first time this season that Ryu has started on four days’ rest, so we didn’t want to give him too many innings.” MLB.com noted the lack of offensive support, saying, “Toronto’s bats didn’t score enough runs.”온라인바카
Ryu is expected to start a home game against the Texas Rangers on April 13. Texas is in a tight race with Toronto for the third wild card spot, so Ryu’s performance will be crucial.