Blue Jays’ Ryu fails to break the Yankees jinx

Blue Jays’ ace Ryu Hyun-jin once again failed to break his Yankees jinx. The South Korean pitcher allowed five runs on six hits and one walk while striking out five over five innings against the New York Yankees at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York on Monday local time. He failed to pick up his fourth win of the season as a result.

Ryu, who suffered second straight loss against the Yankees, struggled from the beginning of the Monday match. Luke Voit and Aaron Hicks hit back-to-back homers off Ryu in the first inning. The first fastball Ryu threw to Voit and the fifth one to Hicks, both of which were 145 kilometers in velocity, were the problem. Blue Jays outfielders gave up chasing the ball as it flew over the left side of Sahlen Field.

Ryu, who managed to keep calm despite defensive errors, pitched scoreless second and third inning but gave up another homer in the fourth inning with one out. Miguel Andujar hit Ryu’s 141 kilometer/hour slider over the left-field wall. It has been 381 days since Ryu last allowed three homers in one game on Aug. 24 last year. Unfortunately, the last game was also against the Yankees. After losing face by giving up three homers, Ryu allowed a two-run double in the fifth. Ryu Hyun-jin’s ERA against the Yankees rose from 8.71 to 8.80. His ERA this season has soared to 3.19 from 2.51.

“I’ll do better from next time. It was difficult as I allowed runs early in the game but my teammates reversed the game,” said Ryu after the game with a disappointing look on his face. The Blue Jays have 19 games left in the regular season and nine of them are against the Yankees. Ryu will have enough chances for a revenge game against the Yankees.


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com