No strikeouts, but he was good.
온라인바카라 Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu allowed two runs (unearned) on four hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in five innings of work against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, on Monday (July 21).
For the second straight game, he went five innings, but did not allow an earned run. Three consecutive no-hitters. Lowered his ERA to 1.89.
Ryu Hyun-jin pitched well against Cincinnati. Photo (Cincinnati, USA)=ⓒAFPBBNews = News1
83 pitches thrown. He threw 23 pitches in the fifth inning alone. The weather was hot, 89 degrees Fahrenheit (31.7 degrees Celsius) at game time, and it didn’t help his defense.
The pitching wasn’t efficient either, with only four induced hits within three pitches, which means the batters were persistent.
Of his 83 pitches, 38 were four-seam fastballs (46%), 18 were changeups (22%), 16 were curves (19%), and 11 were cutters (13%). Opponents took a total of 36 swings, 8 of which were swings and misses, and 15 fouls. 34% of the pitches either crossed the strike zone or were swung at.
The fastball velocity was a bit of a concern. The average was only 87.4 mph. I even had one that went as low as 84.8 mph. With a top velocity of 89.6 mph, there were no pitches over 90 mph.
But Cincinnati hitters weren’t hitting the ball well. They averaged just 90.2 mph on batted balls. The only hit Ryu allowed with his fastball on the day was an infield single to Spencer Steer in the second inning.
While his fastball velocity was down, he also averaged a slower-than-usual 76.6 mph on his changeup. It created an ideal velocity differential from his fastball. Cincinnati batters took 10 swings at the changeup, three of which were misses.
The curve worked well, too. It was used for everything from working the count to inducing walks to striking out the side. The same curveball showed a wide spectrum of velocity, ranging from 71.4 mph to 65.5 mph, confounding hitters.
The cutter was a minor part of his arsenal, and he didn’t induce much of a swing, but it wasn’t terrible. In the third inning against T.J. Hopkins, he got a backdoor cutter for a groundout. It’s been a while since we’ve seen that.
Ryu was once again successful in suppressing hard-hit balls, picking up where he left off against the Cubs. He allowed just two hard-hit balls over 95 mph, and none of them were barrels that hit the plate. The hardest was an infield single to Steer in the second inning at 102.5 mph, followed by a line drive to right field to Luke Miley in the same inning at 97.3 mph.
Despite his lack of velocity, he was able to keep the hard-hitting batters in check with his pitch mix and delivery. “He’s a guy who knows how to throw,” manager John Schneider said, and he showed the strength of a veteran in the craft.