Hyun-Jin Ryu took the mound Thursday for his final start before the All-Star break and with a final chance to put an exclamation point on what’s been a stellar first half of the 2019 season.
He didn’t quite meet the lofty standard that has been set, and the Los Angeles Dodgers had their improbable streak of walk-off wins snapped at five in a row, but there nonetheless was reason to celebrate after the Independence Day matchup.
The Dodgers spotted Ryu a 1-0 lead in the second inning and later extended it to 5-0. He got through six shutout innings, holding the San Diego Padres to just three hits.
Ryu uncharacteristically issued three walks, his most in any start this season, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts essentially viewed the outing as par for the course, via SportsNet LA:
“I thought it was good, I did. There was some soft contact in there, some plays we didn’t make, tough plays, kind of got his pitch count up. Those guys were pretty patient with Hyun-Jin, but, honestly he was in complete control. To not have a great night, the great stuff, but still go six scoreless, pretty remarkable.”
The three-walk game was Ryu’s first since April 21, 2018. He hadn’t issued more than one walk in a single start this season.
His first walk on Thursday put two on with one out in the second inning. Ryu then induced a force out and struck out Austin Hedges to escape the small jam. Ian Kinsler walked with two outs in the fourth inning, though Ryu then retired Hedges.
Manny Machado’s four-pitch walk to lead off the sixth inning was the last for the Dodgers’ starter. While the outing put a bit of a dent in Ryu’s strikeout-to-walk ratio, he improved to 10-2 and lowered his ERA to 1.73.
Next for Ryu is a start for the National League team in the 2019 MLB All-Star Game at Progressive Field. On top of receiving that honor, Ryu is also an All-Star for the first time in his career.
While the Dodgers adjusted their starting rotation over recent weeks to provide pitchers with additional rest, the changes resulted in Ryu no longer being scheduled to pitch Sunday. Had he done so, he would’ve been ineligible to appear in the All-Star Game on Tuesday.
