Despite pitching well, Ryu Hyun-jin was pulled after five innings.
Ryu Hyun-jin pitched five innings, striking out five and allowing two earned runs against the Oakland Athletics on Sunday (July 7) at Lincecum Coliseum in Oakland, California, USA.
Toronto vs. Oakland Starting Lineup for Game 7
The Toronto Blue Jays’ batting order to support Ryu was George Springer (designated hitter), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (first base), Davis Schneider (second base), Whit Merrifield (left field), Kevin Biggio (right field), Santiago Espinal (third base), Ernie Clement (shortstop), Dalton Bashaw (center field), and Tyler Heinemann (catcher).소닉카지노
Danny Jansen, the original Ryu pairing, is on the disabled list (IL). He will share the ball with the new catcher, Tyler Heinemann. Ryu expressed confidence before the game, saying, “It shouldn’t be a problem.”
For Oakland, J.P. Sears will take the mound. Sears is the only pitcher in Oakland’s starting rotation to complete a full game. However, he has struggled this season with a 3-11 record and a 4.60 ERA. He’s also struggled in his last seven starts, going 2-4 with a 5.91 ERA. In his last start, he tossed six shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels on April 1. The Oakland lineup is Zack Gelbrecht (second base), Brent Rooker (left field), Ryan Noda (first base), Jordan Diaz (designated hitter), Carlos Perez (catcher), Kevin Smith (third base), Seth Brown (first base), Nick Allen (shortstop), and Eteri Ruiz (center field).
Asia’s No. 1 Ryu Hyun-jin
Ryu Hyun-jin is the undisputed number one pitcher in Asia. When looking at the performance of Asian pitchers in the major leagues, Ryu leads the list with a career ERA of 3.24. Hiroki Kuroda is second with a 3.45 ERA, and Darvish Yu is third with a 3.59 ERA.
Second Elbow Surgery? The Korean Monster’s Rise
Ryu returned to the big leagues last month after a 14-month hiatus following his second elbow surgery, and since his return, he is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA in six appearances. Most notably, he has pitched three straight games with less than two earned runs. Literally every game Ryu has pitched has been a win. Aside from a loss in his comeback start against the Baltimore Orioles on April 2 (four runs in five innings), Toronto has won all five of his starts.
In his most recent start, on April 2 against Colorado, Ryu pitched well. Despite the challenges of Coors Field, which is at an elevation of 1,610 meters above sea level and increases the velocity and distance of batted balls, Ryu pitched five innings of four-hit ball with two earned runs and two walks. Aside from the second-inning homer, it wasn’t a bad outing overall. His fastball topped out at 145 mph and averaged 140 mph, and he used his curveball as his primary weapon to throw hitters off their timing.
In his major league debut, Ryu went 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA in three games against Oakland. This season, Oakland is 42-97 with a .302 winning percentage and is in last place in the American League West. The offense is also dismal. The team is batting .224 with an OPS of .671, which ranks last in the majors. Ryu should have an easier time getting the win against the Oakland lineup.
Toronto is in desperate need of a win tonight. The Jays, who won their third straight game the day before with a 7-1 rout of Oakland, improved to 77-62 on the season and moved past the Texas Rangers (76-62) into the third wild-card spot in the American League (AL). Only a half-game separates them. They’ll need to widen the gap if they want to make the postseason.
Ryu gets off to a strong start with a triple play
Ryu Hyun-jin got off to a clean start with a triple in the first inning. He chose a sinker on the outside of the plate against Zack Geloff, who led off the inning. It was foul. The second pitch was a high cutter that drew Gelloff’s bat. He followed with a three-pitch outside changeup and got Gellows to fly out to center field. He followed that up with his first strikeout of the game against Brendan Rooker. His first pitch was a 70.4 mph slower curveball that he swung and missed. His second and third pitches were a high fastball and a low changeup, respectively. It was a two-ball, one-strike count. Even with the unfavorable count, Ryu didn’t waver. He induced a false swing with a four-pitch strike zone cutter, got a strikeout with a 90.7 mph fastball on the body, and finally got Ryan Noda to ground out to first base with a fastball outside the zone.
Thanks to Ryu’s strong start, the Toronto offense got on the board first in the second inning. Biggio led off with a double to left, followed by an infield single by Clement. Biggio came home to score the go-ahead run. However, Basho and Springer followed with walks to load the bases.
In the second inning, Ryu worked out of a jam. He got another strikeout against Diaz to lead off the inning. The first pitch was a high fastball. He swung at a changeup outside for two. The third pitch was a body ball and the fourth was a curveball. In a two-pitch, two-strike situation, Ryu chose a curveball for the fifth pitch. This time, Diaz cut it, but the restraint was noticeable. The curveball was clocked at 62.5 mph (about 100 kilometers), similar to Ryu’s lowest pitch. The final six pitches were fastballs. It was right down the middle, but Diaz couldn’t swing at it. He threw a slow curveball on the previous pitch, and then followed it up with a fastball to take away the batter’s timing.
The second batter was Perez. Ryu struck out Perez on a grounder to third base. After getting the second out of the inning, Ryu got Smith to ground out to shortstop for the second triple play of the game.
The third inning was no better. He got a leadoff single to shortstop. He worked the count to three balls and two strikes, but then fouled off a high changeup outside. The next batter he faced was Allen. He opted for a 67.6-mph curveball, but the ball was driven up the middle. Allen didn’t miss it and lined it into left field. The next at-bat for Ruiz, Allen stole second. Ruiz flied out to right field. With the bases loaded and two outs, he struck out Geloff. He and Geloff worked a three-ball, two-strike, full-count battle until the seventh pitch. He then fired a final outside cutter for a called strike to end the inning safely.
In the fourth inning, Ryu was in big trouble. After a five-pitch battle with the leadoff man, he gave up a double to left-center field. With the count at two balls and two strikes, Ryu opted for a changeup, but it was a little high. Rooker didn’t miss it, allowing the leadoff hitter to score on a double. The defense’s performance in the clutch took the pressure off Ryu’s shoulders. Noda’s next pitch was hit toward the first baseman and Guerrero Jr. caught it and threw out Rooker at third to end the threat. Guerrero Jr. exchanged glances with Ryu after the nice play, and the replay showed Ryu thanking Guerrero Jr. for the play.
Diaz followed with a single to right field. Ryu then gave up his first run of the game. Perez followed with a single and Noda stole second. With the bases loaded and two outs, Perez hit a five-pitch low fastball from Ryu for a two-run home run that cleared the left-field fence. It appeared to be a foul ball on the replay screen, but the Toronto bench watched without any video review. Ryu then faltered. He appeared to handle Smith’s follow-up as a routine shortstop grounder. However, the safe call here was ambiguous, and the Oakland bench immediately requested a video review. The original call was an out, but the review turned it into a save, leaving Ryu with runners on first and second. However, Allen’s next at-bat was a force out to the second baseman to end the threat.
In the fifth inning, Ryu walked the leadoff batter. He threw a low sinker on the outside of the first pitch to Ruiz, but it was hit into left field. Ruiz then stole second, leaving Ryu with runners on first and second. In a difficult situation, Ryu didn’t falter. He struck out Geloff on three pitches. He induced a foul with a sinker outside the zone. He followed with a two-pitch high cutter for a wild pitch and then a three-pitch strikeout with a 68.9 mph fastball. He followed that up with a seven-pitch battle with a rookie. He looked shaky in the middle, exchanging mismatched signs with catcher Heinemann, but came up with a high cutter on a two-pitch, two-strike count. However, Noda’s at-bat caught Ryu off guard, allowing Ruiz to steal third base. Ryu then got Noda to fly out to right field to end the threat. Ryu then retired the side in order to end the fifth inning.
Ryu’s ERA increased slightly from 2.48 to 2.65. Meanwhile, the series is now 1-2 in favor of Toronto.