He shook off the “five-inning pitcher” label. Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto Blue Jays) pitched six innings in his return from injury, sending a positive signal to his team.
Ryu threw just 82 pitches over six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out five in a start against the Texas Rangers at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Wednesday.
Ryu’s pitch distribution against Texas on April 13. /Photo=Baseball Servant Homepage
QS after 480 days, shaking off the last doubts… Local media praise again!
This is Ryu Hyun-jin’s longest innings since returning from Tommy John surgery (elbow ligament splicing) early last month and his first quality start (6+ innings, 3 earned runs or less) in 480 days since May 21 against the Cincinnati Reds last year.
Before the surgery, Ryu was eating up QS, but it’s been a different story since his return. While he’s been outstanding with a 3-3 record and 2.93 ERA in eight starts, it’s the eighth time he’s recorded a QS.
More importantly, he proved that he can go six innings or more after giving up a run in four straight games, starting on July 27 against the Cleveland Indians.
His stuff was even better. He threw 16 pitches (20%) with a slow curveball that touched as low as 63 mph (101.4 km/h), 25 pitches (30%) with a four-seam fastball that averaged 88.9 mph (143.1 km/h), 18 pitches (22% each) with a changeup and cutter, and five pitches (6%) with a sinker.
Local praise has been pouring in. According to Sports Illustrated (SI), “Ryu struck out Nathaniel Lowe with a shocking 63-mile-per-hour fastball. The look on Lowe’s face as he walked back to the dugout, stunned by the extreme difference in velocity, was priceless.” “Ryu threw the pitch as if he was taking batting practice or a soft toss, and what looked like it was going to be high in the strike zone ended up perfectly high in the zone. Lowe had no choice but to freeze,” he recalled.
Another outlet, BVM Sports, wrote, “Ryu stunned Texas batters with a slow ball. The sneaky pitching style that overwhelmed the opponent made (Lowe) look like a fool,” while The Comeback said, “Ryu never showed a powerful pitching style, but he pitched as cleverly as pitchers who have been in the league for years. It was very respectable,” and “In recent years, everything has been emphasized on velocity. A slow curveball like that is like a lost art. It’s encouraging to see a pitch like that being used to great effect in 2023.”
Ryu’s value soars, even his manager is impressed… Toronto fall baseball rests on Ryu’s shoulders
Toronto manager John Schneider told MLB.com, “He threw few pitches and had good command. He had good velocity, so he did a good job of sticking to his game plan.” “You want to take back that one cutter to Robbie Grossman (that gave up the home run), but he threw good pitches against good hitters. I didn’t give up a lot of hard-hit balls. The way he was pitching on the mound, the way the score was, the way he was pitching, the way he was pitching, we felt like we could trust him through the sixth inning.”
The problem is, Ryu hasn’t gotten the win in any of his six-inning outings. Starting with the Cleveland game on May 27, the bullpen has been giving up runs whenever Ryu is removed.
“The result wasn’t what Toronto wanted, but the blame for the loss can’t be placed solely on Ryu,” said the Toronto Star, a local newspaper. “It was his first QS since May 20, 2022. In 35 innings pitched this season, Hyun-jin Ryu has an impressive 2.93 ERA.”
Considering the team’s performance, there is certainly room for improvement. Toronto is third in the American League (AL) East with an 80-65 record, 11.5 games behind the first-place Baltimore Orioles. They are 2.5 games behind the second-place Tampa Bay Rays. They have to look to fall baseball through the wild card, where they are 0.5 games behind Texas (80-64) for second place.
“I can understand losing two games in a row to Texas. It’s part of the game,” he said. “We have another game tomorrow. We need to focus on tomorrow’s game and do well,” he said.
Ryu was disappointed that he couldn’t get the win for the team and himself. However, he did go six innings and proved that he has the potential to go many more. It’s a far cry from a few months ago, when his future looked uncertain due to injury.
Ryu will be eligible for free agency after this season. Despite his advanced age, Ryu is still able to showcase his health and increase his value. Even with a shaky bullpen in Toronto, Ryu’s value is only going to increase, making the rest of his season even more important.
Ryu was disappointed that he couldn’t get the win for the team and himself. However, he did go six innings and proved that he has the potential to go many more. It’s a far cry from a few months ago, when his future looked uncertain due to injury.메이저사이트
Ryu will be eligible for free agency after this season. Despite his advanced age, Ryu is still able to showcase his health and increase his value. Even with a shaky bullpen in Toronto, Ryu’s value is only going to increase, making the rest of his season even more important.