The Los Angeles Dodgers made a statement in the opener of a big three-game series against the Colorado Rockies, coming away with an 8-2 victory to move back into first place in the National League West.
While a lot of the talk after the game was on the Dodgers’ offensive outburst led by two home runs from Joc Pederson, Hyun-Jin Ryu also deserves a ton of credit for turning in one of his best outings of the season.
Ryu tossed seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits. He struck out five batters without allowing a walk.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gave Ryu an extra day of rest ahead of the start as he has typically had success when receiving extra rest. After the game, Ryu complimented his manager for communicating that to him ahead of time so he could prepare accordingly, via J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
“If I started on Sunday, it would have been on four days’ rest,” Ryu said. “Doc did a good job of letting me know that I was going to pitch this game early, rather than the other game. That definitely helped me in terms of preparing for this game.”
Monday night’s start may have solidified a spot for Ryu in the Dodgers’ postseason rotation should they qualify.
He has been limited to 13 starts in 2018 due to injury but has been very effective when he has been able to take the mound, holding a 5-3 record to go along with a 2.18 ERA, 3.01 FIP and 1.04 WHIP with 78 strikeouts and 13 walks in 70.1 innings.
Ryu has a 1.29 ERA in eight starts at Dodger Stadium compared to 4.15 in five starts on the road, so the Dodgers coaching staff and front office may also take that into consideration when deciding on their ultimate postseason rotation.
