“It’s a tremendous changeup”…Ryu’s decisive pitch, which even the opposing manager admired, led to his first win in 444 days

“The changeup was huge.”

Ryu Hyun-jin started the 2023 Major League Baseball game against the Chicago Cubs at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Thursday (ET) and pitched five innings of two-run (non-hit) ball with two walks and three strikeouts to earn his first win in 444 days.

Ryu got off to a rough start. After striking out leadoff hitter Christopher Morel in the first inning, he gave up a walk to Nico Horner. He then induced Ian Happ to hit a grounder to first base. But a throwing error by first baseman Brandon Belt put runners on first and second. He got Cody Bellinger to ground out to short, but gave up an RBI double to Dansby Swanson.

But that would be the only run Ryu would give up in the game. From the second inning on, he was unflappable. He didn’t leave a single runner in scoring position. He ended the second inning with a triple play. In the third inning, Horner singled with one out, but catcher Danny Jansen threw out Happ at the plate.

In the fourth, he allowed a leadoff walk to Bellinger, but got Swanson and Seiya Suzuki to fly out to right before striking out Patrick Wisdom. He then retired the side in order in the top of the fifth before coming off the mound.

The Toronto offense was fully supportive of Ryu’s first win of the season. Dolton Bashaw’s three-run homer in the bottom of the second inning set the tone. Then, with runners on first and second, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer hit back-to-back RBI singles. It was 5-2.

Toronto extended its lead in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Guerrero. Basho added an RBI double to complete the five-hit game. It was Basho’s first career five-hit game.

The Cubs responded with a two-run homer by Wisdom in the top of the seventh, but Toronto added three more runs in the bottom of the inning on RBI singles by Santiago Espinal, Paul DeJongh and Whit Merrifield to secure the 11-4 victory.

“He was very good,” Toronto manager John Schneider said of Ryu after the game, according to the Herald Bulletin. “He limited the hard contact. He showed what he was capable of before the injury in his third start since coming back. Considering his age, that’s not easy. He makes it look very easy.” 토토사이트

Cubs manager David Ross also praised Ryu, especially his changeup. In the game, Ryu struck out three batters and threw his changeup for strikes on all three pitches. It was his main weapon.

“I know his velocity isn’t back to where it needs to be, but he can throw it. The changeup was huge,” Ross said. “It’s hard to score a lot of runs when he’s got the lead. We scored two runs on an error. As soon as he got the lead, he was cruising.”