TORONTO – If there ever was a time when a little extra movement and speed made a difference, it would be in a game like this: Must Win, Season on the Line, Ace on the Hill. With that in mind, the Toronto Blue Jays have prepared their post-season rotation in surprising ways. Matt Shoemaker would start Game 1 and allow staff ace Hyun Jin Ryu to put Game 2 on extra break.
But shortly after Ryu hit the hill at Tropicana Field on Wednesday night, it was clear that he wasn’t having his best stuff, no extra day of rest or not. Before the second inning ended, the left-handed was in a game already out of reach for a Blue Jays team headed for post-season elimination. With that, his massive 2020 season ended in a frustrating way.
“You were hit from all of my places,” Ryu said afterwards through an interpreter. “I just didn’t have a good game.”
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Ryu’s Fastball is never an overwhelming playing field, but it does benefit from additional speed. In the Blue Jays’ playoff win against the Yankees last week, Ryu hit 15 pitches at 90 mph on his way to one of his best starts of the year. When he faced the Rays on Wednesday, he only got 90 miles per hour once.
Not only that, the Rays’ two biggest hits hit pitches that benefit from added speed. Mike Zunino hit an 88-mile four-seam fastball for a second inning home run, and Hunter Renfroe’s Grand Slam hit an 85-mile cutter later in the same frame. There’s no doubt that movement and location also play a role, but if nothing else, a drop in speed reduces Ryu’s margin of error.
It’s not the first time Ryu has served at reduced speed, and if someone succeeds without a blazing fastball, it is, but he has exceeded 90 mph at least three times in each of his 12 regular season starts. Reaching this threshold only once is remarkable and potentially worrying.
After Ryu’s last regular start to the season, he felt “a little sore” according to manager Charlie Montoyo, but the Blue Jays later stated there was no injury in the game. Now that the season is over and there is no competitive advantage by downplaying such concerns, was Ryu’s drop in speed health related?
“No. You just did a good job against him, but he was fine,” said Montoyo. “We didn’t know anything. If we did, of course he wouldn’t serve. But no. You did a good job. Your approach was outstanding. “
“I was feeling good physically, but I noticed my bike falling off, especially my fastball,” added Ryu. “But I think the mistakes hurt me more than the bike itself. In the first inning they were hit by all my side fields, which made the game extremely difficult for me. “
Behind the plate, catcher Danny Jansen said he didn’t see much difference in Ryu’s stuff than usual. To some extent, the Rays hitters deserve credit.
“They just took up a few places early,” said Jansen, whose two home runs were the only bright spots for the Blue Jays in their 8-2 defeat. “They were aggressive and jumped on him and the Grand Slam and all that stuff went fast. We prepared like any other game, we took our time and did what we wanted. “
Earlier this month we saw Ryu’s speed fluctuate from start to finish. He hit the 90 mph threshold just three times against the Yankees on September 7, before breaking 90 mph 20 times against the Mets six days later. After that he was well placed at the start, a loss to the Phillies, but his pace had slowed again. But his stuff was certainly back in the clinch game against the Yankees.
Given these fluctuations, it’s easier to think of this as a clunker of bad timing than a really alarming sign.
“Days like today happen,” said shortstop Bo Bichette, whose two mistakes kept Ryu on the hill longer than necessary. “He’s our type. We went out and got him for a reason. He did everything we asked him to do this year and it’s unfortunate for him that it happened today, that he had a tough day out, but we all believe in him 100 percent. “
There are certainly plenty of reasons to believe in Ryu after a season of 2.69 ERA, 72 spikes, compared to just 17 walks in 67 innings led by a team. Those numbers are good enough to garner Cy Young votes, and more importantly, they establish Ryu as the ace of staff the Blue Jays wanted when they signed him for $ 80 million over four years.
Now is the time to rest and build on that success in 2021.
“I don’t want the last two games to detract from all the efforts and difficulties we went through as a team during the regular season,” said Ryu. “We didn’t necessarily have a place to call home. Buffalo was a home stadium for us, but it felt like we’d been out all season. Managing the postseason was great. The last two games didn’t go the way we wanted them to, but I think we’ve done a great job as a group throughout the season to overcome those difficulties. “
