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In this Getty Images photo, 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 Tuesday. (Getty Images) |
Toronto Blue Jays' South Korean starter Ryu Hyun-jin saw his personal winless skid reach three games after his bullpen frittered away a lead in late innings.
Ryu held the New York Yankees to three runs on three hits in six innings in a 6-5 Toronto loss at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on Tuesday (local time). The left-hander walked a season-worst four batters, and both of the New York runs came via solo shots.
Ryu handed the reins to the bullpen with a 5-3 lead through six, but reliever Anthony Castro served up two runs in the top seventh
Ryu's record remained at 5-4 but his ERA went up from 3.34 to 3.43.
Ryu had dropped his two previous starts while surrendering 10 runs in 11 1/2 innings combined. He was largely undone by shaky command in those outings and didn't look particularly sharp early in this one.
Ryu threw his first wild pitch of the season in the first inning with Giancarlo Stanton at the plate and ended up walking the Yankees cleanup hitter.
He escaped that inning unscathed and the Blue Jays spotted him a 1-0 run in the bottom first. But then Gary Sanchez opened the proceedings in the second inning with a game-tying solo home run.
This was Sanchez's third career home run against Ryu.
The Blue Jays reclaimed their lead thanks to Bo Bichette's solo homer in the bottom third, but Ryu gave a run right back in the top fourth, when rookie Chris Gittens belted a solo shot for his first career long ball.
The Blue Jays did all they could to put Ryu in line for a victory. They put up a three-spot in the bottom fourth to take a 5-2 lead, thanks to a passed ball and a two-run single by Bichette.
Ryu didn't make things any easier on himself, though. With one out in the top sixth, Ryu allowed a single and a double, and a Miguel Andujar groundout scored a run to make it a 5-3 game.
Ryu limited further damage, but his day was done after six innings and 92 pitches, 58 of them for strikes.
Reliever Castro took over from the seventh, but he promptly served up a solo home run to Brett Gardner and let in the tying run with a wild pitch. The Yankees scored the go-ahead run in the top eighth and hung on for the tight win. (Yonhap)
