The game was disappointing, but I saw hope.
Ryu Hyun-jin (류현진) started the home game against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Tuesday (July 2). He gave up four runs on nine hits in five innings with one walk and three strikeouts.
Ryu underwent Tommy John surgery on his left elbow on June 2 last year against the Chicago White Sox. He took the mound after a 14-month rehabilitation.
In his last rehab start, Ryu topped out at 90.8 miles per hour (mph) and averaged 142.2 mph, but today he topped out at 91 mph (146.5 km/h) and averaged 143.2 mph. He’s still not 100 percent. More changeups. He threw a changeup (22), curve (20), and cutter (5). Curve angles were high. American pitching expert Rob Friedman called it a “messy curveball.
The comeback itself was news. The rest of the game left a lot to be desired. He gave up too many runs. He struggled early on. In the first inning, he gave up back-to-back doubles as both his fastball and cutter were hit. A changeup to Anthony Santander was hit for a double, putting runners on first and third. Two batters later, he struck out Jordan Westberg on a wild pitch to end a long first inning.
The runs continued in the second inning. Ramon Urias led off with a double off the left field fence. A sacrifice bunt and infield grounder put runners on second and third, and a curveball to Lurchman was hit up the middle for the third run.
The top of the third and fourth innings were uneventful as well, with the leadoff hitter walking.
In the top of the fifth, a single and a walk put runners on first and second with Trevor Richards warming up in the Toronto bullpen. He was in trouble, but Hayes got out of the inning unscathed. Ryu, who had thrown 75 pitches through five innings, was given a chance in the sixth. But his changeup to leadoff hitter Henderson on a 2B-2S count was right up the middle and over the fence. With the lead down to 3-4 on a 3-3 count, Ryu came off the mound. The home run was a 107-meter shot that just barely cleared the fence, but the Toronto bench couldn’t delay the decision any longer.
The Toronto bullpen couldn’t hold on after Ryu went down. They lost 3-13, and Ryu took the loss.
On the day, Ryu mixed up his pitches, with his fastball sitting in the mid-90s. It was enough for everyone to see that the surgery went well. His velocity has room to improve. There are quite a few cases where pitchers have seen an increase in velocity during the season after Tommy John surgery. The problem is that Ryu’s ball contact rate is too high compared to what it should be. He gives up too many hard hits, and his falling changeup has hitters’ bat heads following it all the way to the plate. However, his aggressive pitching has helped him control his pitch count.
Anxiety and hope coexist. The local media was initially optimistic about Ryu’s return. “It was unrealistic to see Ryu back in a Blue Jays uniform,” said Sports Illustrated. He didn’t pitch particularly well, but he didn’t pitch terribly bad either. The Toronto Sun wrote, “It was a long-awaited return. The crowd at Rogers Centre gave him a warm welcome, and Ryu must have been happy. The content of the game was still cold, but once he pitched, Ryu’s velocity increased, which is a hopeful issue to see in the future.
“I’m very happy to be back, but I was disappointed that I didn’t do everything a starting pitcher should do,” Ryu said in a local interview. 카지노사이트
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