For the first time, Ryu Hyun-jin (36-Toronto Blue Jays), one of Major League Baseball’s best stolen base deterrents, allowed three stolen bases in a game. The MLB’s best “Dodo” stole two or three bases in a row, but he didn’t fall apart.
In his last start against the Oakland Athletics on July 7, Ryu went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts. It was his sixth straight start with two earned runs or fewer. However, a two-run homer off Carlos Perez in the fourth inning was the only blemish. With the Toronto offense unable to get going, Ryu suffered his second loss of the season (3-2) as the team fell to 2-5. His ERA was 2.65.
What stood out in this game was Ryu’s stolen base. After Nick Allen stole second base with two outs in the third inning, his first stolen base in seven games and 32 innings this season, Ryu gave up back-to-back doubles to Esterly Lewis in the fifth. It was the first time he had been caught stealing three bases in one game in his MLB career, which spanned 10 seasons and 182 games. It’s also the first time he’s allowed two or three consecutive stolen bases.
Ryu has the best stolen base defense in the MLB. He has allowed just 11 stolen bases in his career. Prior to this game, he had allowed eight in 10 seasons. This is the fewest stolen bases allowed by 96 pitchers with at least 900 innings pitched over the last 11 years, dating back to 2013 when Ryu debuted in the big leagues.
He’s a left-hander who throws with his back to first base, which gives him an advantage when it comes to runners on base, but his quick slide step doesn’t allow him to steal bases easily. He has a decent breaking ball and is praised for his timing with runners. It’s strange to see Ryu give up three stolen bases in one day, but it’s not surprising given the changing landscape of the league.
MLB made several rule changes this year in an effort to speed up the game and make it more exciting. One of them is an increase in the size of the bases, with first, second, and third base, excluding home plate, going from 15 inches (38.1 centimeters) square to 18 inches (45.7 centimeters). The distance between the bases has also been reduced by 3 inches (7.6 cm) from home to first and third to home, and 4.5 inches (11.4 cm) between first and second.
Pitchers are also limited to two strikes per at-bat, with a third strike that fails to pick off a runner counting as a walk. Pitchers were also allowed to take their feet off the plate, which was considered a blocking motion, creating an overwhelmingly favorable environment for runners. As a result, stolen base attempts (1.36 to 1.78), stolen bases (1.02 to 1.42 per game), and stolen base success rate (75.4% to 80.0%) all increased significantly year-over-year.
Luis, who became the first player to steal two or three bases in a row against Hyun-jin Ryu, was one of the beneficiaries of the rule change. Luis, a right-handed hitting center fielder from the Dominican Republic born in 1999, made his debut with the San Diego Padres last July and was acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers shortly afterward at the trade deadline. He exploded for 85 stolen bases between Double-A (37) and Triple-A (48) last year, but only stole one in 17 games in the big leagues. He had two more caught stealing attempts.
He was traded again last December to Oakland and is in his first full season in the MLB. In 113 games, he’s batting just 2-for-49 (100-for-401) with three home runs, 40 RBI, 16 doubles, and 90 strikeouts. Despite his lack of power and vision, he’s making up for it by leading the American League (AL) in stolen bases (58). When he’s on base, he’s on base. He also has a high stolen base success rate of 86.6%. His 58 stolen bases are the second-most by an AL rookie in a single season, passing Ichiro Suzuki of the 2001 Seattle Mariners (56) for third place. It took him 31 years to surpass the AL rookie record of 66 stolen bases set by Kenny Lofton of the Cleveland Indians in 1992.
Against Hyun-jin Ryu, he stole two bases with plenty of time to spare and then stole third. In the fifth inning, with Ryan Noda at second base, Toronto catcher Heinemann took the fifth pitch and threw it back to the pitcher, Ryu Hyun-jin, who immediately cut off the runner at third base to complete the steal. Seeing Heinemann’s urgent gesture, Ryu threw to third as soon as he received the ball, but it was too late. Ryu was caught off guard by the surprise steal. It was only the second time in a decade that Ryu had allowed a runner to steal third base since Dexter Fowler on May 1, 2013, against the Colorado Rockies when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ryu leads both major leagues with 17 stolen bases.온라인카지노
Uncharacteristically, Ryu gave up back-to-back stolen bases, but he didn’t collapse. In the third inning, he threw out Zach Gellows at second base to end the inning, and in the fifth, he struck out Gellows and Brent Rooker with two outs. After allowing a stolen base, he got Noda to fly out to right field to end the threat. It was a clutch performance by Ryu.