▲ In this USA Today Sports photo via Reuters, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Cleveland Indians in the bottom of the fifth inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Progressive Field in Cleveland on May 28, 2021. (Yonhap)
▲ In this Getty Images photo, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Cleveland Indians in the bottom of the fifth inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Progressive Field in Cleveland on May 28, 2021. (Yonhap)
▲ In this Getty Images photo, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Cleveland Indians in the bottom of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Progressive Field in Cleveland on May 28, 2021. (Yonhap)

pitcher-MLB

In-game adjustments help Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin beat Cleveland in inclement weather

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, May 29 (Yonhap) -- It was a cold and miserable evening in Cleveland, as Ryu Hyun-jin and his Toronto Blue Jays were prepared to face the Indians at Progressive Field.

The temperature dipped to 10 C for the 7:10 p.m. first pitch on Friday (local time), and with the wind chill effect, it likely dropped to a single digit. It was also raining sideways with the wind blowing at 25 mph.

Ryu held his ground and kept the Indians to two runs over five innings for an 11-2 victory. The game was called off before the seventh inning due to heavy downpours.

All the damage against Ryu was done in the top of the first inning. The South Korean left-hander gave up three hits and two walks -- the first time he walked two batters in a game all season -- while needing 32 pitches to get through the opening frame.

Ryu found his groove afterward, giving up just one infield single the rest of the way, while his teammates put up 11 runs on 15 hits for a breezy win.

With a wry smile, Ryu said after the game he didn't recall having ever pitched in such weather.

"I'd be lying if I said the weather conditions didn't affect me in the first inning," Ryu said in his postgame Zoom conference. "I prepared for the game following my usual routine, but I still struggled in the first. My pitches were mostly flat, and I wasn't able to command the ball the way I wanted to"

Ryu threw 91 pitches and only 11 of them were four-seam fastballs, for a usage rate of 12 percent. His season average is 29.1 percent. Ryu mixed in 26 changeups and 22 cutters, and reached deep into his arsenal and offered 25 sinkers -- a pitch he'd only thrown 17 times in his previous nine starts combined.

Ryu said it was all by design.

"I didn't have quite the velocity I wanted in the first inning, and so I started throwing more off-speed stuff," Ryu said. "It helped me get through five innings today."

According to Baseball Savant, Ryu averaged 86 mph with his four-seamer in the game, down from his season average of 89.5 mph.

Starting in June, the itinerant Blue Jays will play their home games at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, normally the home of their Triple-A club. Their temporary home earlier in the year had been TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida.

With the Canada-U.S. border closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Blue Jays haven't been allowed to play home games at Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto since last year.

They also played their home games in Buffalo, and Ryu said the transition shouldn't be an issue.

"Though I had some comfort level in Dunedin, having also pitched there during spring training, I am also familiar with the surroundings in Buffalo," Ryu said. "My teammate and I should try to get settled down as soon as possible."

(END)

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