The “Korean Monster,” Ryu Hyun-jin, 36, of the Toronto Blue Jays, isn’t getting much defensive help.
Ryu gave up two runs on four hits (two home runs) in five innings against the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. He improved to 3-1 with his third straight win in front of his home fans, but his first quality start of the season (QS – six or more innings and three or fewer earned runs) will have to wait until next time.
By the fifth inning, Ryu had thrown 60 pitches. He was on track for a QS, as his best outings in his previous four starts had been five innings. Ryu’s last QS was on May 21 last year against the Cincinnati Reds. Against Cleveland, he came close, but it was his teammates who held him back. A series of mistakes led to his downfall.
In the top of the sixth inning with the bases loaded and a 5-2 lead, Ryu induced Jose Ramirez to ground out to third base. It looked like it was going to be a double play, but third baseman Matt Chapman made a throwing error, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Oscar Gonzalez followed with a grounder to shortstop that Santiago Espinal couldn’t make a backhanded catch. Expecting a double play, Ryu expressed his disappointment by running hard.
With two outs and the bases loaded, manager John Schneider Tornado called on his bullpen. Ryu threw 70 pitches.카지노
Toronto has a strong defense. According to Fangraphs.com, a site specializing in Major League Baseball (MLB) records, the Jays have a cumulative Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) of 74 through 26 games (second-place Milwaukee Brewers-47). DRS is a measure of how many runs a defense prevents, with a value of 0 (average) and a higher number indicating a better defense. The Brewers also rank second in Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), which divides the field into 64 zones and assigns a weight to each hit, at 26.7 (first-place Milwaukee-26.7). That’s a lot of defense, but it’s different when Ryu is on the mound.
Against the Cubs on April 14, a throwing error by first baseman Brandon Belt in the first inning led to a run. Against Cincinnati on April 21, an error by Chapman in the second inning led to a run. Chapman is a three-time Gold Glove winner, but when Ryu is on the mound, the errors pile up. Ryu has 11 earned runs on the season, but only six of them have been unearned.
He doesn’t have a high strikeout rate, and he’s the type of pitcher who can rack up outs by inducing base hits. He needs a solid defense to back him up. That’s why the Toronto outfield needs to wake up.