S Korean pitcher-award
Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin named NL's best pitcher for May
SEOUL, June 4 (Yonhap) ― By many measures, Los Angeles Dodgers starter Ryu Hyun-jin had an outstanding month of May. And now he has an award to prove it.
Ryu was named the National League (NL) Pitcher of the Month for May by Major League Baseball (MLB) on Monday (local time). It's the first monthly award for Ryu in his seven-year big league career, and the 32-year-old is only the second South Korean pitcher, after ex-Dodger Park Chan-ho, to be so honored.
Park was the NL's top pitcher in July 1998, when he was 4-0 in six starts with a 1.05 ERA.
Ryu had an even better month in May this year. He was a perfect 5-0 in six starts and posted a tidy 0.59 ERA, leading all NL pitchers in wins and ERA for the month.
In 45 2/3 innings, Ryu struck out 36 and walked only three batters.
Ryu rode a 32-inning scoreless streak last month, a stretch that included a complete game shutout against the Atlanta Braves on May 7. He didn't give up a run in four of his six starts in May. Ryu was also the NL Player of the Week for May 12.
For the season, Ryu is leading the NL with eight wins and has the lowest ERA in all of baseball with 1.48. He has yet to allow more than two runs in a game in 11 starts so far.
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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