He strikes out with a 104 mph curveball.Five innings of two-run ball from Ryu earn him his third victory of the year.
The “Korean Monster,” Ryu Hyun-jin, 36, of the Toronto Blue Jays, extended his winning streak to three games with a curveball that dropped to 104 kilometers per hour and a sharp changeup.
Ryu started the Blue Jays’ 2023 Major League Baseball home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Sunday (July 27) and allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits over five innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out five.
A series of errors by the Toronto infield in the top of the sixth inning prevented him from earning a quality start (QS-6+ innings, no more than three earned runs), but his solid pitching helped lead his team to an 8-3 victory.
Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak, and Ryu extended his winning streak to three.
Ryu, who underwent left elbow ligament reconstruction surgery on June 19 last year, made his big league debut on June 2 against the Baltimore Orioles (five innings, nine hits, four runs) and has now won three of his five starts this year.
Ryu is riding a three-game winning streak, including a no-decision against the Chicago Cubs on April 14 (5 innings, 2 hits, 2 runs) and a no-decision against the Cincinnati Reds on April 21 (5 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs).
It was also the 78th win (46 losses) in his 180th major league appearance (179 starts).
Despite giving up two solo home runs, Ryu was effective on the day, mixing his curveball and changeup.
Of his 70 pitches, 49 were strikes.
His fastball (29) topped out at 146 miles per hour, but he used a mix of big-drop curves (13) and sharp-drop changeups (19) to cook Cleveland hitters. He threw nine cutters.
Ryu’s season ERA has worsened a bit, from 1.89 to 2.25, but it’s still a quality performance.
Ryu also fulfilled his “fifth outfielder” role on the day, as he cleanly handled the three batted balls directed at him.
He also brushed off the disappointment of not getting the win in Cleveland on Aug. 8, when he was hit in the knee by a pitch after throwing four scoreless innings.
It wasn’t Ryu who was disappointed, but the Toronto infield.
Ryu threw 60 pitches to close out the fifth inning and took the mound in the sixth, seeking his first QS in 464 days since May 21, 2022, against the Cincinnati Reds (six scoreless innings) before undergoing left elbow ligament reconstruction surgery.
With a 5-2 lead, Ryu gave up a single to Cole Calhoun in the top of the sixth.
The next batter, Jose Ramirez, induced an infield grounder, but Toronto third baseman Matt Chapman made a throwing error.
With runners on first and second, Oscar Gonzalez grounded into a double play. This time, however, shortstop Santiago Espinal lost the ball.
The two errors put Toronto in a bases-loaded jam, and Ryu had already given the mound to Garcia.
Pitching coach Pete Walker came into the dugout to console him, and Ryu smiled back.
Garcia allowed Ramon Loreano to score on a ball hit to his body, extending Ryu’s lead to three runs. The third run was unearned due to an error.
Luckily, Garcia retired the next three batters to preserve the win.
Despite falling short of the QS, Ryu pitched a solid game again.
The start was a little shaky.
In the top of the first inning, Ryu gave up a 141-mile-per-hour fastball to Ramirez for a solo home run over the left field wall. The ball traveled 119 meters at 167.7 kilometers per hour.
It was the first time in four games and 15 innings that Ryu gave up an earned run since allowing a home run to Gunner Henderson in the sixth inning of an Aug. 2 loss to Baltimore (five runs on nine hits in five innings) in his return from elbow surgery. His streak of consecutive scoreless innings ended at 14.
Ryu didn’t allow an earned run against Cleveland on Aug. 8 (four scoreless innings), the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 14, and the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 21.
Despite the home run, Ryu struck out Gonzalez and got Lorenzo to fly out to second base to set the tone.
The Toronto offense responded with three runs in the bottom of the first, giving Ryu a boost.
Whit Merrifield doubled, followed by a Beau Bissett RBI single to tie the game at 1-1, and with two outs, Davis Schneider hit a two-run arch over the left-center field wall.
Ryu then responded to his team’s bats by going on a hot streak.
He struck out the first batter of the inning, Andres Jimenez, on a cutter, and then threw a changeup to Gabriel Arias for a strikeout. Arias fouled off a changeup in the strike zone.
After getting out of the second inning with two strikeouts, Ryu gave up a leadoff double to Cam Gallagher in the third, but retired the next batter to prevent any further damage.
Ryu retired the side in order in the fourth, most notably striking out the final batter of the inning, Andres Jimenez, on a 104-mile-per-hour curveball.
Ryu gave up a solo shot to left field to Tyler Freeman with one out in the fifth inning for a 5-1 lead. It was Freeman’s first big league home run.
An error by the Toronto infield in the sixth inning added another run, but the Toronto offense made up for it with hot hitting, and Ryu was able to secure the win.
Schneider, 먹튀검증토토사이트 who hit a two-run double in the bottom of the inning, followed it up with an RBI single in the seventh, finishing 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored.