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| ▲ In this Associated Press photo, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Seattle Mariners in the top of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on July 1, 2021. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ In this Getty Images photo, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Seattle Mariners in the top of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on July 1, 2021. (Yonhap) |
pitcher-MLB
Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin once again dogged by command issues
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, July 2 (Yonhap) -- It was out of character for Ryu Hyun-jin, the South Korean left-hander for the Toronto Blue Jays, to give up two home runs to left-handed batters in the same game.
Then again, the whole summer has been out of character for the usually reliable veteran, as his command issues continued in his latest loss.
Ryu allowed five runs -- four earned -- on seven hits in four innings in a 7-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on Thursday (local time). He's now 7-5 with a 3.65 ERA.
Two of those hits were home runs by Jake Fraley and Shed Long Jr., both left-handed batters. Prior to this game, Ryu hadn't surrendered any home runs against the same-handed batters, and they'd been hitting only .177/.215/.274 against him.
In his postgame assessment, Ryu simply said his biggest undoing was his lack of command.
"Pitches that I thought would find the strike zone ended up being balls, and the hitters stayed patient," Ryu said in his Zoom session. "That ran up my pitch count."
Ryu needed 28 pitches to get out of the two-run first inning by the Mariners and another 26 pitches in the second inning when Seattle added a run.
"I'll be better the next time out," Ryu said. "I'll try to put this behind me as quickly as I can and to throw as many strikes as I can."
Through the end of May, Ryu appeared to be cruising to his typically efficient and consistent campaign. He had a 5-2 record and a 2.62 ERA while riding a personal four-game winning streak.
Once the calendar flipped to June, Ryu has been a different pitcher and not in a good way. He posted a 4.88 ERA in five starts in June, losing the first two starts of the month before bouncing back to win the final two.
But much of the same command problems dogged him in Ryu's first July start.
He threw only 12 changeups out of 85 pitches, and the 14 percent usage rate is well below his season average of 28.2 percent.
Ryu first started experiencing changeup issues in June. He was much better with the pitch in his previous start on June 26 against the Baltimore Orioles but said after the Seattle game that he has to go back to the drawing board.
"Once again, I felt my changeup wasn't as good as it was in April and May," Ryu added.
Including Fraley's home run, Ryu has served up five home runs with his changeup this year after 93 2/3 innings. That's already as many home runs as Ryu allowed on that pitch in 182 2/3 innings in 2019, the most recent full season in the majors.
The pitcher said he was forced to rely heavily on his four-seam fastball and cutter -- 40 fastballs and 24 cutters accounted for 75 percent of his pitches -- and offered, "I have to address that quickly."
Ryu also revealed that he had trouble keeping his emotions in check early on as hits piled up early. It was a rare admission by a stoic veteran who hardly ever seems rattled.
"You're bound to get carried away by emotions in games, and I need to be able to control that better," Ryu said.
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