Struggling Ryu Hyun-jin in need of adjustments in quest for elusive KBO win
Hanwha Eagles starter Ryu Hyun-jin returns to the dugout during the bottom of the fifth inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, April 5. Yonhap
The third time wasn't the charm for the Hanwha Eagles starter Ryu Hyun-jin last week, and the left-hander will take his fourth crack at earning his first win in Korea since 2012 later this week.
If his first three starts of the 2024 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) are any indication, Ryu won't have an easy time getting into the win column, regardless of the opponent.
In his first season back at home after 11 years away in the majors, Ryu is 0-2 with an unsightly 8.36 ERA. Few, if any, would have expected to see such a crooked number next to Ryu's name. He pitched to a 3.46 ERA in 11 starts for the Toronto Blue Jays just last season, after returning from Tommy John elbow surgery.
Ryu is in line to face the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The Bears have been a middling offensive team this year and have particularly had trouble batting with runners in scoring position. This may seem to be a prime opportunity for Ryu to get the big monkey off his back and move into the win column.
But on the other hand, Ryu may have his work cut out unless he can make some adjustments.
In all three starts so far, Ryu pitched well in early innings but turned into a completely different pitcher in later innings as his pitch count went up.
Ryu has served up 23 hits in only 14 innings so far. Of those 23, five came between pitch Nos. 61 and 75, and nine came after Ryu has thrown his 76th pitch.
On Friday, Ryu surrendered nine hits in 4 1/3 innings against the Kiwoom Heroes. He held them to one single through four innings on 56 pitches. But the bottom fell out in the fateful fifth inning, when the Heroes rocked him to the tune of eight hits, including seven in a row. Only one of them was an extra-base hit: a double by Kim Jae-hyun.
Hanwha Eagles starter Ryu Hyun-jin reacts to a single by Choi Joo-hwan of the Kiwoom Heroes during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, April 5. Yonhap
In fact, that is the only extra-base hit Ryu has given up this season. For all his trouble, Ryu has not yet served up a home run.
Opposing hitters have been content to kill Ryu softly with a parade of singles, and do so by swinging early in the count.
Of the 23 hits Ryu has given up, 12 have come either on the first or the second pitch of the at-bat. And to hear opponents tell it, this is not coincidence.
After driving in a go-ahead run with a single off Ryu on March 23, LG Twins leadoff man Park Hae-min spoke of an attack mindset by his team.
"Because he usually has great command of his pitches, I didn't want to fall behind the count and tried to stay aggressive," Park said.
In the same game, Shin Min-jae drove in the first two Twins runs with a second-inning single against Ryu. He, too, didn't want to sit back against the veteran lefty.
"He is such a huge control artist that I tried to get to him early in the count," Shin said. "I figured he wouldn't throw a changeup against a left-handed batter like me. So I was trying to sit on either a fastball or a curveball. I was still looking for a fastball after two strikes, and it led to the great result that I had today."
Hanwha Eagles starter Ryu Hyun-jin pitches against the Kiwoom Heroes during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, April 5. Yonhap
On Friday, Kim Whee-jip of the Heroes had two singles against Ryu in the fifth inning, and credited the team's collective success to their "swing first, ask questions later" approach.
"We didn't want to fall behind in the count," Kim said. "And we had runners in scoring position pretty much every time we went up there during that inning. And after we got a couple of hits early, we wanted to keep the line moving and swing early."
Those quick hits against Ryu had an unexpected effect for the Eagles. Because the meltdown was so sudden and hitters were coming up at a brisk pace, Eagles relievers barely had time to warm up. Eagles manager Choi Won-ho offered a mea culpa on Saturday, saying he had failed to properly time the pitching change during the messy inning.
Ryu reserves particular disdain for walks — so much that he has often said he hates walking batters more than giving up home runs. He will try to throw strikes early in the count.
But that seems to have backfired so far this season as hitters, knowing Ryu is going to be around the zone with the first couple of pitches, are swinging their bats with abandon. They know they could be in trouble if they fall behind because Ryu can come at them in some unpredictable ways.
This approach by Ryu wouldn't have been a problem, though, if he had been executing his pitches.
In all three starts, Ryu's famous command deserted him in later innings, along with a bit of velocity. Ryu is no longer able to dominate hitters with fastballs and has to locate his pitches to keep them off balance and induce soft contact.
Hanwha Eagles starter Ryu Hyun-jin pitches against the Kiwoom Heroes during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, April 5. Yonhap
Instead, Ryu has been leaving mediocre pitches out over the plate. KBO hitters may not be as talented as big league hitters, but they can still get their barrels on middle-middle pitches.
Choi, Ryu's manager, attributed the pitcher's early-season woes to physical issues. Ryu had been working out on his own for weeks when he signed with the Eagles on Feb. 22. KBO clubs were about three weeks into spring training by then.
Ryu belatedly joined the Eagles' camp the following day. Ryu pitched well enough in bullpen sessions, scrimmages and spring training games that pundits generally expected him to hit the ground running in the regular season. Choi, on the other hand, believes Ryu may still be at least a couple of weeks away from being fully ramped up for the grind of the regular season.
"Starting pitchers typically take about a month to get to 100 percent and don't forget that this season started earlier than usual," said Choi, a former pitcher. "I think most pitchers at this point try to work out their kinks in early outings. My staff and I have sat down with Hyun-jin to go over his starts. I think he'll be fine in the next game and beyond."
Ryu first pitched for the Eagles from 2006 to 2012, and then spent the next 11 years in the majors. Ryu's previous KBO win came against the Bears on Sept. 25, 2012. It was long enough ago that only two players in the Bears' starting lineup from that day, catcher Yang Eui-ji and outfielder Jung Soo-bin, are still with the team. (Yonhap)