Hyun-Jin Ryu answered any questions over the decision he, not Clayton Kershaw, start Game 1 of the National League Division Series, and the Los Angeles Dodgers backed him with three home runs in a 6-0 win over the Atlanta Braves.
The NLDS start was only the third of Ryu’s and fourth overall in the postseason. However, Thursday night marked his first playoff outing since the 2014 season. Like he did throughout much of the year, Ryu did not disappoint.
Vowing to give the Dodgers everything he had from the first pitch, Ryu faced one over the minimum through four shutout innings.
Freddie Freeman’s two-out single in the first was all Atlanta had mustered to that point, but they threatened in the fifth with back-to-back base hits. However, Ryu retired pinch-hitter Kurt Suzuki to preserve the Dodgers’ 4-0 lead.
He wound up getting through seven scoreless innings, collecting eight strikeouts against zero walks. Ryu’s 104 pitches were the most he’s thrown since 108 on Aug. 12, 2017. Including the 2018 regular season, Ryu now boasts a 1.02 ERA at Dodger Stadium this year.
It certainly did not hurt that the Dodgers jumped out to an early lead on Joc Pederson’s leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning. Justin Turner followed with a double, Max Muncy walked, and Cody Bellinger’s walk with two outs loaded the bases.
While he surrendered the home run and was taxed in the inning, Mike Foltynewicz got Yasiel Puig to finish the first with three strikeouts. Foltynewicz then started the second inning with a strikeout.
However, hitting Pederson with two outs wound up sparking a rally for the Dodgers. After a Turner walk, Muncy clubbed a three-run home run. Foltynewicz gave up the four runs on three hits, and had five strikeouts in two innings. Kiké Hernandez’s line-drive solo shot in the sixth was the Dodgers’ final home run of the night.
Whereas the Dodgers only needed Caleb Ferguson (one inning), Alex Wood (two outs) and Dylan Floro (one out) to finish the game, the Braves used five relievers. That could prove to be troublesome for a staff that went into the NLDS with question marks.
