Ryu Hyun-jin narrowly loses chance to become winning pitcher

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, who has become the first Korean national to take the mound as a starting pitcher for three consecutive seasons in the Major League Baseball, got off to a great start. He started in an opening game of the season against the New York Yankees at the Yankees Stadium in New York on Thursday local time, and displayed impressive pitching by giving four hits, one walk, six strikeouts and two runs, while playing five and one third of innings.

The South Korean starting pitcher did not back down at all during his first showdown with Gerrit Cole, who is considered the primary candidate for the Cy Young Award in the American League. Cole pitched fastballs of up to 160 kilometers per hour, and gave five hits, two walks, eight strikeouts and two runs while playing five and one third of innings.

Ryu pitched fastballs of up to 148 kilometers. Among a total of 92 pitches at the game, he threw three changeups, which is his main weapon, and 26 cut fastballs.

When the Toronto Blue Jays were trailing 1-2 in the fifth inning, Teoscar Hernández hit a solo homer over the left side fence off Cole to tie the score, and Randal Grichuk had a two-base hit to secure 3-2 win during the overtime 10th inning. Local media in Toronto reported that Ryu’s solid pitching provided basis for his team’s win. However, after the game, Ryu said, “Frankly, I feel like I performed most poorly in our team. I really regret that I gave a homer that reversed the score even though our team got the first run of the game.”


Heon-Jae Lee uni@donga.com