Well-executed plan, better balance help Ryu Hyun-jin to victory

▲ In this Getty Images photo, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Atlanta Braves in the bottom of the second inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Truist Park in Atlanta on May 12, 2021. (Yonhap)

▲ c In this USA Today Sports photo via Reuters, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Atlanta Braves in the bottom of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Truist Park in Atlanta on May 12, 2021. (Yonhap)

▲ In this Associated Press photo, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Atlanta Braves in the bottom of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Truist Park in Atlanta on May 12, 2021. (Yonhap)

pitcher-MLB

Well-executed plan, better balance help Ryu Hyun-jin to victory

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- In holding the Atlanta Braves to a run in seven strong innings, Toronto Blue Jays' starter Ryu Hyun-jin executed his game plan to near perfection.

Combine that with what Ryu himself described as better balance on the mound, and that's a recipe for success against any opponent.

Ryu earned his third win of the season in Atlanta on Wednesday (local time), his only blemish being a solo home run by William Contreras in the fifth inning at Truist Park in a 4-1 Toronto victory. Ryu, who struck out six and walked one, is now 3-2 with a 2.95 ERA.

This was Ryu's second start back from a stint on the 10-day injured list with a right glute strain. He went five innings against the Oakland Athletics last week and then matched his season high with seven innings this time.

Ryu is the only Toronto pitcher to have thrown at least seven innings in a start this year, and he's now done it twice.

"As a starting pitcher, I think I am supposed to go six to seven innings every time," said Ryu, who threw 94 pitches, 63 of them for strikes. "I was efficient with my pitch count early on today, and my fastball had more life than the last outing."

He had a fairly balanced four-pitch mix: 30 fastballs, 25 changeups, 22 cutters and 17 curveballs.

His cutter was noticeably slower but had more movement in this game. His average cutter velocity for the season was 85.2 mph, but Ryu averaged 83 mph against the Braves.

He traded in speed for movement, as it had an average vertical break of 36 inches, up six inches from his season average, according to Baseball Savant.

"For this particular game, I wanted to throw my cutter like that (with less velocity and more break), and it worked out really well," Ryu said. "You could even call it a slider. Either way, I had good results with it."

Ryu said he worked on improving his balance, since he felt he had been off the mark in some recent outings. His coaches gave him a heads-up, and Ryu himself noticed his problems too.

"I was trying to keep the weight back," Ryu said. "Even while I was playing catch before this game, I tried to focus on my balance. I had really good balance today."

Ryu and his opposing starter, fellow left-hander Max Fried, traded zeroes through four innings, before Contreras broke that string with a solo shot in the fifth. The Blue Jays had mustered just one hit off Fried at that point, and Ryu had to be on top of his game to keep his team in the game.

"In a tight game, I tend to have better focus," Ryu said. "When scores are lopsided, I may lose a bit of edge in spite of myself. Pitching duels like this actually help pitchers."

A key to Ryu's success in the game was keeping Freddie Freeman, the reigning National League MVP, in check. The No. 2 hitter for the Braves went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against Ryu -- on three pitches each time.

Freeman had been 4-for-13 with a couple of walks against Ryu previously.

"He's still a dangerous hitter, one of the best in the majors," Ryu said. "I've always had trouble against him, and I try to be careful against him. I think I've been lucky in recent meetings."

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