Ryu fails to earn 3rd win despite stellar pitching

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Ryu Hyun-jin throws during the first inning of a game against the New York Mets at Citi Field in New York City, Thursday. / AFP-Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Ryu Hyun-jin successfully erased the memory of his worst pitching in a Major League Baseball Saturday after he delivered his best at a game against the New York Mets Thursday.

At Citi Field in New York, the 26-year-old was obviously the player of the match. Ryu allowed only three hits and one run over seven innings, striking out eight. He nonetheless failed to earn his third win because of the Dodgers’ dead bats, but the team eked out a 3-2 victory after collecting two more runs after he left the mound 1-1.

It was Ryu’s longest outing of the season.

“I thought he was good, really good,” Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said of Ryu. “It looked like the Mets were looking softer early, so he kept using his fastball.”

A confident Ryu seemed to have no fear of the Mets’ sluggers as he kept throwing fastballs and still managed to miss their bats in the first inning. Even David Wright was no exception.

Throwing into the second and third innings, his arsenal became more diverse with sliders and changeups to keep the hitters off balance. After throwing 18 balls in the first inning, Ryu only needed 47 more to hold the hitter for nothing until the end of the fifth inning.

Ryu’s performance in the sixth inning was the only taint of the day. He avoided going head-to-head against the batters and threw balls when strikes were badly needed. He allowed Ruben Tejada a walk even though Ryu was ahead of him 0-2. Wright’s sacrifice fly after a single and double gave the Mets a run.

“I usually have one or two critical situations, but I feel bad I could not manage to overcome it without giving up a run this time. I will concentrate more the next time,” Ryu told reporters.

When asked if the critical walk stemmed from a communication problem with the catcher, Ryu shrugged, saying “it would be bad from the beginning if there was a problem with him.”

In the meantime, the Dodgers struggled with Mets starter Jeremy Hefner. The Dodgers only had three hits. After Matt Kemp’s single that scored Carl Crawford in the first inning, the hitters kept silent until Ryu was relieved by Ronald Belisario.

But Kemp scored what amounted to the deciding run in the ninth inning to save the Dodgers from extending to a seven-game losing streak.

“He told us he could do it. It's a big win for us,” Mattingly said of Ryu going out for the seventh inning after throwing more than 90 balls to give the team’s bullpen a break.

After losing within his reach, Ryu said he still felt good as the Dodgers won after a string of losses. He also noted he has not received a call from rapper Psy yet.

Before taking off to the United States to promote his latest song, “Gentleman,” on Thursday, Psy said he would contact Ryu to thank him in appreciation of Ryu’s “Gangnam Style” dance video clip with his teammates. That was posted on the Dodgers homepage on April 9.