Like Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu has been nothing short of dominant in his starts at Dodger Stadium this season. However, that was not the case Friday night as Ryu and the Los Angeles Dodgers came under siege in a 10-2 rout at the hands of the New York Yankees.
What this year’s Players Weekend uniform lack in design, the showdown between the storied rivals made up for in anticipation. The Yankees entered on a four-game losing streak but served an emphatic reminder why they lead the Majors in runs scored.
Behind a patient approach that mirrors the Dodgers, the Yankees stressed Ryu earlier before chasing him with one out in the fifth inning. He surrendered three home runs and ultimately yielded seven runs after Adam Kolarek allowed the inherited baserunner to score.
Now having suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this season, Ryu highlighted a
need to revert back to hitting all areas of the strike zone, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“I always emphasize, I think, commanding pitches and also make it part of my game. I wasn’t able to do that tonight. If you look at all of the home run pitches, they ended up in quadrants I did not want them. Making mistakes like that hurt me the last couple games. I guess I just have to go out there and try to hit all the quadrants. I just couldn’t do that my last two starts.”
Ryu allowed a combined three homers and seven earned runs through his first 11 home starts this season. The Yankees doubled those totals in a game that also saw Ryu allow multiple home runs in a start at Dodger Stadium since June 22, 2017.
New York broke the game open on Didi Gregorious’ grand slam in the fifth inning. It was the first Ryu allowed in his career, and one of two home runs Gregorious hit on the night.
The atypical outing increased Ryu’s ERA from 1.64 to 2.00, which nonetheless still leads the Majors. Though if there’s one concern, it’s the five combined home runs opponents have hit off Ryu in his last two outings.
After a rough outing at SunTrust Park, the 32-year-old said he would treat it in similar fashion to the June 28 start at Coors Field in which he allowed what was then a season-high seven earned runs. Now Ryu faces the challenge of learning from and bouncing back after a second consecutive subpar start.
Friday’s loss was his first at home in 2019.
