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| Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Ryu throws Hyun-jin against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning of their game at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday (KST). / AP-Yonhap |
By Kim Tae-jong
Los Angeles Dodgers' pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin successfully shut out the Colorado Rockies, one of the hottest offensive teams in Major League Baseball, Tuesday (KST), securing his eighth win this season.
He said he was satisfied with his performance, attributing the successful outing to a new pitch that he recently started to develop.
"Hard sliders worked well, especially to left-handed batters. I threw the pitch to the last batter in the game and got him out. I will use it more often," Ryu said after the game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
The Korean left-hander also said he was happy about the speed of his pitches, which helped him keep the Rockies' hitters off-balance.
Ryu's outstanding performance and his teammates' vigorous hitting led the Dodgers to an easy 6-1 victory and also ended the Rockies' five-game winning streak.
"I tried not to care much about the fact that they had recorded the five consecutive wins, which I thought might affect my pitching," he said.
The Rockies struggled to put together hits except for the first inning after two were out, when Justin Morneau hit a double on a fly ball to right-center field, sending Brandon Barnes to third base. But Ryu struck out Drew Stubbs without allowing a run.
It was almost a perfect game for Ryu, who recorded six strikeouts and only allowed three hits, including a solo home run, with one walk, as he threw 105 pitches through the sixth inning. He lowered his earned-run average to 3.18 from 3.33.
Ryu said he regretted the last pitch to Wilin Rosario in the fourth inning, which was turned into a solo home run.
Ryu was replaced by Brandon League when his team was leading 3-1. The Dodgers' bullpen — J.P. Howell, Brian Wilson and Jamey Wright — who took over from League, allowed only one hit.
Ryu and the Dodgers' bullpen gave up no hits to Troy Tulowitzki, who has the highest batting average in the majors. Tulowitzki's batting average dropped to .357 from .362.
In contrast to the Rockies' hitters, every member of the Dodgers' starting lineup recorded a hit except for Ryu and third-baseman Miguel Rojas. They produced 15 hits altogether.
Along with Ryu, the game's star player was Dee Gorden, who had four consecutive hits, including a triple, and scored twice. He got on base in all five at-bats, thanks to a walk in the eighth.
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