By Baek Byung-yeul
Los Angeles Dodgers’ starter Ryu Hyun-jin posted a quality start in his team’s 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals while Oh Seung-hwan of the Cardinals’ picked up his 12th save after pitching a scoreless ninth inning.
At Busch Stadium in St. Louis, the 29-year-old lefty pitched six effective innings, allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out four and walking one. Though the game ended in a no decision for him, Ryu lowered his ERA from 4.28 to 3.91. The Cardinals took the win as Dexter Fowler hit a tiebreaking solo home run in the eighth inning.
This was Ryu’s eighth start of the season and first since May 18. He earned his first major league save in his first career relief appearance on May 24 against the Cardinals after throwing four scoreless innings. He made his return to the rotation in place of Alex Woods who’s currently on the 10-day disabled list.
“Tonight, he came out really focused,” the Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts said of Ryu after the game. “He came out aggressive, filling the strike zone. You like to think every time they take the mound guys are focused. But he did have a really good look in his eye. His change-up was really good. He was throwing closer on right handers. And he played up his fastball. It was as much velocity as we’ve seen this year from Hyun-Jin. He matched that pitcher pitch for pitch.”
Ryu is expected to have one more start as Wood is not eligible to return until June 6.
“Obviously his outing tonight was very encouraging,” Roberts added. “We’ve always considered him a starter and we’d like to continue to give him opportunities. But I think right now it’s still contingent upon Alex and his health.”
While throwing 77 pitches, Ryu only stumbled in the second inning.
After an easy 1-2-3 first inning, Ryu forced Jedd Gyorko to ground out but allowed a single to Tommy Pham. Pham advanced to second base when Stephen Piscotty flied out to center field, and Pual Dejong scored him with an RBI double. Ryu, who tossed an intentional walk to the next batter, Aledmys Diaz, could only get out of the inning after retiring the Cardinals’ starter Carlo Martinez who flied out to right field.
The Dodgers tied the score at 1-1 in the top of the sixth as Adrian Gonzalez delivered a sacrifice fly to score Corey Seager who was on third base.
Though he was set to pitch into the seventh inning, Ryu was replaced by pinch hitter Austin Barnes when Enrique Hernandez hit a double with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. Thus far, Ryu has recorded two wins, five losses and one save in 46 innings.
With the score 2-1, Oh had a scoreless ninth inning for his 12th save in 14 opportunities and lowered his ERA from 3.00 to 2.88.