▲ In this Getty Images photo, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays reacts to a solo home run by Gary Sanchez of the New York Yankees in the top of the second inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on June 15, 2021. (Yonhap)
▲ In this Getty Images photo, Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Miami Marlins in the top of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on June 15, 2021. (Yonhap)
▲ In this USA Today Sports photo via Reuters, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the New York Yankees in the top of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on June 15, 2021. (Yonhap)
▲ In this Getty Images photo, Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts to a pitch against the Miami Marlins in the top of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on June 15, 2021. (Yonhap)

MLB-S Korean pitchers

2 S. Korean starters have early command issues in no-decisions

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, June 16 (Yonhap) -- For the second time this season, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays and Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals started on the same day.

And for the second time, neither left-hander got a win.

Ryu took a no-decision after giving up three runs in six innings against the New York Yankees at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on Tuesday (local time). Ryu left the game with the Blue Jays up 5-3, only to see his bullpen let the lead disappear in a 6-5 loss.

In St. Louis, Kim held the Miami Marlins to a run over six innings, but he, too, settled for a no-decision in a 2-1 Cardinals win. They were down 1-0 when Kim handed the reins to the bullpen, before rallying with a couple of late runs.

Back on June 4, both pitchers suffered losses. Ryu walked his then season-high three batters against the Houston Astros, while Kim exited the game after three innings with lower back tightness. The Marlins game was his first start since then.

Against the Yankees, Ryu walked four batters, the first time he had that many free passes since Sept. 4, 2019.

Home plate umpire Adam Hamari worked a curious strike zone, with Ryu getting the short end of the stick on some low pitches but also receiving favorable calls on some high inside pitches.

Ryu even had a rare display of frustration in the second inning, when he walked DJ LeMahieu on four pitches. The fourth pitch, a changeup, looked to be in the zone but didn't get the call.

"I shouldn't have walked the batter in that situation," Ryu said. "But when the umpire makes his call, then pitchers have to accept that. I always try to forget about bad situations as quickly as I can. It doesn't help me to dwell on those."

Ryu surrendered two home runs Tuesday and has now given up five long balls in his last 17 2/3 innings. He gave up just six homers in 67 innings all of last season.

"My command improved as the game progressed, but I struggled early on because my misses were too much outside the zone," Ryu said. "I am the type of pitcher that has to rely on command. I'm going to have to address this issue going forward. But over the course of a long season, I am bound to run into speed bumps here and there."

Kim gave up five walks against the Marlins, two more than his previous season high. He was fortunate to have limited the Marlins to just a run; they created plenty of traffic on the base paths early but Kim wiggled his way out of those jams.

Kim settled down after some rocky early moments and retired nine of his final 10 batters. He finished with his longest outing of 2021.

"I gave up too many walks, but I induced a lot of soft contact," said Kim, who got nine groundouts against three flyouts. "I am looking forward to the next start. I'll try to go even deeper into the game and listen to 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' (played during the seventh inning stretch)."

Kim said he was still unsure how his back would hold up, and it wasn't until later in the game that he felt comfortable.

"I think the back should be better in my next start," Kim said. "I want to be able to pitch more innings, so that our bullpen guys can get some rest and finish the season healthy. I think we have the best bullpen in the league."

(END)

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