The Los Angeles Dodgers handed the ball to one of their best starters in Hyun-Jin Ryu in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series with a chance to return to the World Series. But Ryu wound up turning in one of his worst starts of the year.
The Dodgers suffered a loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, though then won Game 7 at Miller Park. Now Ryu has an opportunity to redeem himself as he gets the start against the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 on the World Series at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.
When Ryu found out that he would be starting Game 2, his sole focus was on bouncing back and helping his team earn a big win. “I heard it right after the media session [Monday]. And when I initially heard the news, I just thought about being prepared,” Ryu said.
“And I feel like I am at this point. And if the last outing was more of a mistake, I’m going to try to make sure that tomorrow’s outing is going to be good.”
A big reason for Ryu’s poor outing against the Brewers was his lack of ability to command his breaking pitches. That is something he specifically hopes to improve on this time around.
“Looking back at it, if I actually commanded all of my off-speed pitches to get ahead in the count, I think there would have been a different result,” he explained. “Obviously, I’m going to use all of the pitches that I can throw and may try to command the pitches better.”
It is no secret that Ryu has been better at home than on the road this season, but Wednesday night, and if he gets another start in Game 6, he will not have the luxury of pitching at Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts nonetheless expressed in Ryu pitching at Fenway Park. “He’s been very good at Dodger Stadium, but if he’s executing pitches and being on the road, we’re not concerned,” Roberts said.
“He’s had a tremendous year. And pitching in big games, whether it be at home or on the road, his pulse, as we’ve talked about with a lot of our players, isn’t a concern of ours.”
After how Ryu pitched in his last start, the Dodgers could have decided to go with Rich Hill in Game 2 and save Ryu for Game 4 back at Dodger Stadium. Roberts felt that having the ability to start Ryu twice in the series is not something they could pass up.
“We feel that for him to be able to pitch two games in the series, he’s had a short one here in Milwaukee, but the rest he’s on turn,” Roberts explained.
“We like Walker behind him and we like Walker pitching at home. And with Rich getting a little bit of extra time pitching at home, which he pitches well there, too. So we just feel comfortable with that, the way we line things up.”
The Dodgers fell to the Red Sox in Game 1 of the series, so they now turn to Ryu looking to avoid going down 2-0 before heading back to Dodger Stadium for Game 3.
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