Ryu Hyun-jin, 36, of the Toronto Blue Jays, used a slower pace to shut down the American League’s team-leading Texas Rangers offense.
Ryu took the mound for the second game of the Blue Jays’ four-game home series against the Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Wednesday (Sept. 13), allowing three runs on five hits (one home run) and one walk while striking out five in six innings to drop to 3-3 on the season. His first quality start since surgery failed to turn into a win, as the offense failed to capitalize on Texas’ backstop Max Scherzer.
Ryu’s pitching was reminiscent of his prime. Beneath his 90-mph (144-kilometer) four-seam fastball, he used a variety of pitches – curveball, changeup, cutter and sinker – at the right times to win the timing battle with hitters. He shut down the Texas lineup with a one-hit no-hitter through three innings, allowing a leadoff double by Robbie Grossman in the third and a sacrifice fly by Jonah Heim in the sixth. His strike (59) to ball (23) ratio was ideal.
What caught the attention of local media and broadcasters was Ryu’s fantastic slow curveball. Starting with a 65 mph (104 km/h) curveball to Ezequiel Duran in the second inning and a 62.6 mph (100 km/h) slowball to Nathaniel Lowe in the fourth, Ryu minimized the damage by using his veteran changeup in crunch time. It was Ryu’s way of surviving in a major league full of fireballers.토토사이트
As Sports Illustrated (SI) wrote after the game, “Ryu froze Lowe with a blistering 63-mile-per-hour slow curveball. Completely baffled by the dramatic change in Ryu’s velocity, Lowe could barely contain himself as he walked back to the dugout. “He threw back-to-back 87-mile-per-hour four-seam fastballs and then dropped his velocity to 63 mph,” he observed.
“Reminiscent of a batted ball or soft toss in batting practice, Ryu’s curve looks high in the strike zone but eventually drops down the middle, leaving Lowe frozen in place. Ryu’s slow curve is very strategic,” he added.
The U.S. broadcasters were equally impressed with Ryu’s slow delivery. “Ryu’s strength against power pitcher Max Scherzer is his precise location. He can throw a great slow curveball,” and gave him a thumbs-up.