The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals at home for the second straight night on Tuesday, falling 5-2/a> to drop to 3.5 games out of first place in the National League West.
Hyun-Jin Ryu took the mound looking to build off his last start when he tossed six shutout innings in his first outing since the beginning of May. But Ryu had perhaps his worst start of the season.
He allowed four hits and three runs in four innings, striking out four and walking one. Ryu was removed from the game for a pinch-hitter after just 72 pitches in the bottom of the fourth inning as the Dodgers had a pair of runners in scoring position at the time.
After the game, Ryu said that he struggled with his command in the outing and while he wished he could have pitched longer, understood why Dodgers manager Dave Roberts chose to remove him, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“My command wasn’t as sharp as last outing,” Ryu said through his translator. “I definitely could have pitched more innings and built my pitch count, but when Doc pulled me out, that’s a choice that was pretty crucial for our team so it’s very understandable. But in the end, I just have to pitch better and my command has to be sharper.”
Ryu went into the game with a 1.77 ERA on the season, so it was a rare poor start for him. The big blow was a two-run home run off the bat of Yadier Molina in the third inning that broke a 1-1 tie.
The Dodgers starting rotation is currently in the best shape it has been in all season health-wise, so they will look to continue turning in solid starts moving forward, and hopefully the lineup and bullpen can begin carrying their weight as well.
