No National League Rookie of the Year candidate, no big league slugger with a 4 percent career batting average, no one swung and missed. Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto Blue Jays), the Korean Monster, pitched his way to victory. He lowered his season ERA to one run.
Ryu started the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Tuesday (July 21) and pitched a complete game shutout in a 10-3 win. He picked up his second win of the season, allowing two runs (unearned) on four hits and one walk in five innings of work.
After totaling nine scoreless innings in his previous two outings, he ran into trouble early in the game. A poor play by third baseman Matt Chapman led to a leadoff single. A shallow fly ball to left field put runners on first and third, but the replay showed Chapman’s bad throw, allowing both runners to score on the play. First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed with a throwing error.먹튀검증
The back-to-back errors could have rattled Ryu, but he held firm. He regained his composure in the third inning with two strikeouts and continued his momentum in the fourth with a triple play. Finally, in the fifth inning, with runners on first and second, he retired the top of the order on a strikeout and a groundout.
After throwing 28% of his pitches with his changeup in the previous game, he upped the ante with his curveball. Forsythe’s fastball topped out at 89.6 miles per hour (144.2 km/h), but he scattered hitters’ timing with breaking balls that were much slower than that.
The highlight was a strikeout that undid the past and future of the Cincinnati offense. Facing Joey Votto with the bases loaded in the second inning, Ryu worked the count with a fastball and cutter before unleashing a 65.5 mph (105.4 km/h) curveball on the third pitch. Votto, a “slugging machine” with a .410 career on-base percentage in the majors, struck out swinging.
It was a curveball that silenced the hot-hitting Eli de la Cruz, the favorite for National League Rookie of the Year this season. After striking out on a slow curveball in the third inning, Cruz stood watching a curveball in the middle of the strike zone with runners on first and second in the fifth inning and shook his head with a three-pitch strikeout.
The local media was also favorably impressed. MLB.com wrote, “This is what Ryu’s high point is all about,” praising his command of his pitches and battles. It added that the younger or more aggressive the opposition, the more his pitching shines.
After a no-hitter in his last three games, including his comeback, Ryu’s season ERA dropped to 1.89. His walks per inning allowed (WHIP) also dropped to 1.05.