Toronto’s pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin features a strong start

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays had great pitching at the team’s temporary home on Wednesday in his fourth outing of the season.

Ryu had a strong start, allowing two hits, two walks, and a run while striking out seven during six innings against the Miami Marlins at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York on Tuesday. It was his first quality start of the season.

Ryu was as great in the game as last season, when he had a Major League-best 2.32 ERA. He pitched effectively through six innings with 92 pitches. Ryu had the highest fastball velocity of 91.9 mph with an average velocity of 90.1 mph. He was totally different from the first few games of the season, where he struggled to reach his top velocity. Ryu overpowered Marlins batters with a mix of strong fastballs, cutters, which hit every corner of the strike zone, change-ups, and curves.

Ryu, however, failed to pick up a win due to the poor performance of the bullpen. When the Blue Jays was losing 0-1 at the bottom of the sixth inning, Bo Bichette gave the team a 3-1 lead with a three-run homer. The Blue Jays added another point after Ryu left the mound after the sixth inning. At the top of the ninth inning when the Blue Jays was leading 4-1, reliever Anthony Bass gave up a game-tying three-run homer to Francisco Cervelli, blowing a win for Ryu.

The Blue Jays fortunately managed to beat the Merlins 5-4 thanks to Travis Shaw’s bases-loaded single in the bottom of the tenth inning. The Toronto Blue Jays, which had to leave its home Rogers Center in Toronto due to the spread of the COVID-19 and temporarily play at a stadium in Buffalo, became the first team to win a MLB game at the Sahlen Field, the home ballpark of the Blue Jay’s triple-A affiliate.

“It felt like Marlins batters were waiting for breaking balls early in the game so I attacked them with fastballs,” Ryu said in a video interview held after the game. “I think the approach worked. It was good overall.”

The Blue Jays will be playing five homes games at Sahlen Field in Buffalo until Aug. 17 including the two against the Marlins. Ryu is expected to start in a road game against the Baltimore Orioles on next Monday.


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com