Despite the hype surrounding Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto Blue Jays), the manager kept his cool.
Hyun-jin Ryu pitched 4⅔ innings of one-hit ball with two walks and two strikeouts against the Boston Red Sox in the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Monday (June 18).
He underwent elbow ligament reconstruction surgery last June. He made his first healthy return in about a year and two months on April 2 against the Baltimore Orioles. In his ninth start of the season, he was on track to win. With two outs in the fifth inning, he threw 83 pitches (54 for strikes). With a 1-0 lead, he needed just one more out to get the win.
But then the bench made a move. Ryu was pulled from the mound. He had reached his limit pitch count, and with the game on the line, it was likely a good idea to make a change.
Ryu has thrown 90 pitches or less in each of his last eight starts. His season high was 86 pitches against the Chicago Cubs on May 14. He was pulled before the fifth inning for the second time this season. He was forced to leave the game against the Cleveland Indians on May 8 after being hit by a pitch in the fourth inning.
After the game, Toronto manager John Schneider said, “Hyun-jin Ryu is a pitcher who can make good pitches in big moments.” He added, “They put seven of their nine batters on base. He pitched in a lot of crunch time situations. That’s what Ryu can do,” he praised.
As for the decision to remove Ryu before the end of the fifth inning, he explained, “It was a decision based on everything, including his performance in this game and his pitch count.”
Ryu agreed. Speaking to local media, he said, “We’re competing for the postseason, so every game is important. (It doesn’t matter. “At the beginning of the season, it would be disappointing, but we’re not in that situation. You have to trust the judgment of the bench.”
On the day, Ryu used a mix of fastballs (37), changeups (19), curves (13), cutters (12) and sinkers (2). His fastball topped out at 91.1 miles per hour (146.6 km/h) and averaged 89.1 miles per hour (143.4 km/h).
He lowered his season ERA from 2.93 to 2.62. His record remains 3-3 heading into the start against Noddy.
Ryu’s first inning was a triple play. He got Sedan Rafaela to fly out to right, Rob Lefsnider to strike out swinging, and Justin Turner to fly out to left.
In the second, he gave up an infield single to Rafael Devers and a double to left field to Adam Duvall. Duvall’s shot went into the stands for a double. Ryu induced a grounder to shortstop to Pablo Reyes with runners at second and third. Shortstop Beau Bissett made a quick and accurate throw to first base to throw out Devers at home. With runners on first and second, Ryu got Trevor Story to fly out to center and Bobby Dalbec to fly out to right.
In the top of the third, leadoff hitter Liz Maguire singled and Rafaela doubled. With two outs and runners on second and third, she got Lefsnider to fly out to left field. The throw was short, and McGuire, the runner at third, did not come home. He then got Turner to ground out to third and gave up a single to Devers. With two outs, Duvall flied out to right field.
In the top of the fourth, Ryu hit Reyes with a foul fly to first base. Story followed with a grounder to third that was misplayed by Matt Chapman. Dalbec singled to left to put runners on first and third. McGuire induced a grounder to short to end the inning.
In the top of the fifth, Rafaela was directly hit by a pitch. Lefsnider hit an infield single. She caught the ball herself but couldn’t throw to first base. He struck out Turner on a wild pitch and gave up a walk to Devers.
With runners on first and second and Ryu’s pitch count at 83, Schneider made his move. Ryu had already given up a walk to Garcia. Garcia struck out Duvall on a wild pitch to end the fifth.
Toronto took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly by Kiermeyer. Dolton Bashaw’s solo home run in the fifth made it 2-0. In the top of the seventh, Reyes singled to score a run and cut the deficit to 2-1. With two outs in the top of the ninth, Eric Swanson gave up a solo home run to Devers to tie the game at 2-2. Chapman’s game-winning hit with one out in the bottom of the ninth gave Toronto a thrilling 3-2 victory.
It was their third straight win. It’s their 83rd win of the season (67 losses). The Rays moved into the second wild-card spot in the American League, ahead of the Texas Rangers. Toronto, which is third in the American League East, needs to finish in the top three wild-card spots to make the postseason.
They were stunned to lose four straight from December 12-15 against archrival Texas. However, they bounced back with three straight wins over Boston from the 16th through today. When Texas dropped its third straight on the 18th, a 2-9 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, it pushed them out of the third wild card spot and into second.
“It’s not easy to get a sweep after getting swept,” Schneider said. Our guys pitched great in this three-game series, and we had the right offense. Our defense was outstanding.”
Meanwhile, local media praised Ryu’s pitching. Keegan Matheson, a reporter for MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, wrote on social media, “Ryu gave up a lot of hits and needed some help from his defense, but he continued to pitch solidly. With starter Alec Manoa out of the rotation, his value is huge.”
“Toronto was without closer Jordan Romano and key bullpen arm Jordan Hicks, both of whom had struggled in the previous two games, and Ryu and other relievers minimized the damage to secure the win,” said The Athletic.스포츠토토
The Toronto Sun noted that “Boston’s offense generated (plenty of) hits against Ryu, but couldn’t capitalize.”