The bullpen in his last start, the offense in this one. The Toronto Blue Jays’ Ryu Hyun-jin fell short in his bid for a fourth straight win and suffered his second loss of the season, but his five innings of two-run ball for the fifth straight game was certainly encouraging.

Hyun-jin Ryu threw 77 pitches, allowed five hits (one home run), one walk, five strikeouts and two runs (two earned) in five innings of work against the Oakland Athletics on Sunday (July 7) at Lincecum Coliseum in Oakland, California, USA.

Ryu picked up his first victory since Tommy John surgery against the Chicago Cubs on April 14, riding a personal three-game winning streak that also included shutouts of the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians. In his last outing, however, he was unable to capitalize on a bullpen fire, and this time he was unable to get any help from his offense, suffering his second loss of the season. The one home run raised his ERA from 2.48 to 2.65.

A rough start

The Oakland offense, which ranks dead last in the American League and in the majors overall in winning percentage, was unable to capitalize on Ryu’s pitches early in the game, as the right-hander was solid. Ryu got off to a good start in the top of the first inning, striking out leadoff hitter Zack Gelbrecht on a fly ball, then quickly racking up outs by getting the next batter, Brent Rooker, to fly out on a 90.7 mph four-seam fastball. He then got Ryan Noda to ground out to first base to end the three-hit shutout.

Unlike his previous games, Ryu utilized his “four-seam” on this day. Against Jordan Diaz in the second inning, Ryu used his four-seam to get his second strikeout of the day, and then against the center field lineup of Carlos Perez and Kevin Smith, he used his cutter and changeup to induce ground balls from both.

Despite the first pitch, he continued to pitch solidly. In the top of the third inning, Ryu got Jonas Blythe to ground out to shortstop for a no-hitter, but his momentum was interrupted when the next batter, Nick Allen, was hit by a 67.6 mph (108.8 km/h) curveball for a single to left field. That didn’t stop Ryu, however.

Ryu got Esteemed Ruiz to fly out to right field for the second out of the inning, then gave up a stolen base to Allen to put runners on second and third, but after a seven-pitch battle with Geloff, Ryu fired an 84.9-mph (136.6-kilometer) cutter for the final out of the inning.

through home run, blown pitch count

The most frustrating inning of the game was the fourth. Ryu was cruising when he gave up his second run of the night on a double to leadoff hitter Brent Rooker. Here, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. put the pressure on Ryu’s shoulders. Ryu induced a grounder to first base against the next batter, Noda, but Guerrero Jr. snagged the ball and backed Ryu up by sniping the runner at third base.

With Guerrero Junior’s help, Ryu quickly got Diaz to fly out to right field to end the threat. But the inning wasn’t tied up so easily. Ryu faced Perez on the next two pitches, and fired a five-pitch fastball low to the body at 2B-2S. It was clearly a well-pitched pitch. But Perez’s bat spun wildly, and he smashed it over the left field fence for a grand slam.

After giving up the home run, Ryu’s pitch count skyrocketed. Ryu induced a grounder to shortstop against Smith with the bases loaded, and it looked like the inning was over. But the Oakland bench requested a video review, and the call was overturned, allowing Smith to hit an infield single. Ryu shook sharply and gave up a walk to Bride, putting runners on first and second.

Fortunately, no runs were scored. Ryu induced an infield grounder to Allen to end the inning with runners on first and second.

3 stolen bases in his major league debut after only 8 in his career

Ryu has a reputation for not allowing stolen bases in the major leagues. Prior to this game, he had only allowed eight stolen bases in his major league career. He had a good slide step and was very good at throwing out runners. However, this game put a dent in that reputation, as Oakland runners made aggressive baserunning plays.

After struggling in the fourth inning, Ryu struggled in the fifth inning, and there was a stolen base in the background. Ryu started the inning with a single to lead off the fifth. Ruiz is a very quick player, leading the American League with 56 stolen bases before this game. Ryu gave up his second stolen base of the day, putting runners on second and third with no outs.

Ryu then struck out the next two batters, Gelloff and Rooker. That’s where the third stolen base came from. After striking out Rooker, Ryu handed the ball to catcher Tyler Haneyman as Ruiz, who was on second base, raced to third. Ryu received the ball and quickly threw to the third baseman, but he was unable to stop Ruiz. It was the first time he had allowed a third stolen base in his major league debut, and the first time he had allowed two stolen bases to the same player.

But Ryu didn’t falter. Ryu faced Noda at second and third, and after a six-pitch battle, he fired a curveball outside the strike zone to get the batter to fly out to right field to end the inning. Ryu turned the mound over to the bullpen in the sixth, giving up two runs in five innings for the fifth straight game.

Silent bats, three-game winning streak halted

Toronto was on a roll before this game, winning three straight games. They were especially happy to move into the third American League wild-card spot over the Texas Rangers. However, the streak came to a screeching halt as the bats went silent, and Ryu Hyun-jin, who had become a “victory icon” with his team’s five-game winning streak, also came to a halt.

It was Toronto who struck first. Toronto jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second inning when Ernie Clement scored on a bases-loaded walk to leadoff hitter Cavan Biggio. The lead was short-lived, however. Oakland took control of the game in the bottom of the fourth when Perez hit a two-run shot off Ryu Hyun-jin.온라인바카

After Ryu went down, the Oakland bats came alive. In the bottom of the sixth, Diaz and Perez hit back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second with no outs, before Smith hit a three-run blast to put the game out of reach at 5-1.

Toronto got a run back in the top of the eighth when Davis Schneider blasted a solo home run, but closing the gap wasn’t going to be easy, and they couldn’t add another run until the end of the inning, falling to 2-5 and seeing their winning streak come to an end.