Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers got a no-decision in his first Major League Baseball (MLB) playoff start here on Sunday.
Facing the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) at Dodger Stadium, Ryu was yanked out of the game with two outs in the third inning for pinch hitter Michael Young, with the Dodgers ahead 6-4.
Ryu allowed four earned runs on six hits and a walk in three innings for his shortest outing of the year, including the regular season. Ryu became the first South Korean pitcher to make a start in a big league playoff game. Park Chan-ho and Kim Byung-hyun had made 21 relief appearances combined in the postseason.
The Dodgers went on to defeat the Braves 13-6 to take the 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. They will punch their ticket to their first NL Championship Series (NLCS) since 2009 with a win Monday in Game 4. Ricky Nolasco is scheduled to start for the Dodgers, countered by Freddy Garcia for the Braves.
Ryu once again struggled out of the gate, giving up three hits and a walk in the opening frame. After two outs, Evan Gattis and Chris Johnson each hit a run-scoring single to give the Braves a 2-0 lead.
During the regular season, Ryu allowed 17 out of his 64 earned runs in the first inning for a 5.10 ERA. Opponents hit .308 off the left-hander in the first inning.
Ryu settled down and retired the side in order in the second.
In the bottom second, Ryu then helped his own cause with a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to make it a one-run game.
Carl Crawford then put the Dodgers ahead with a three-run homer off the Braves starter Julio Teheran.
Ryu, however, failed to hold on to the 4-2 lead. He gave up three straight singles to start the third inning. Then with the bases full, Brian McCann hit a grounder to first for what should have been a double play.
Adrian Gonzalez threw out the lead runner at second, but Ryu, covering first base, couldn't find his footing on the base as he took the throw from shortstop Hanley Ramirez, as Justin Upton scored from third.
Chris Johnson then hit a soft nibbler down the first base line.
Ryu fielded the ball, but Freddie Freeman beat his throw home to tie the score at 4-4.
The Dodgers rallied again in the bottom third. Gonzalez drove in Ramirez with a single, and Skip Schumacher hit an RBI single to put the home team up 6-4.
After A.J. Ellis' single put runners on first and second with two outs, Young pinch-hit for Ryu in the ninth spot. Young struck out swinging.
Starting for the Braves, Teheran, also a rookie pitcher, fared even worse than Ryu. He lasted just 2 2/3 innings after allowing six earned runs on eight hits in his playoff debut.
The Dodgers blew the game wide open with a four-run fourth.
Against the Braves' second pitcher, Alex Wood, Ramirez hit a run-scoring triple, and Yasiel Puig drove him home with a single.
Then Juan Uribe launched a two-run jack over the right field to make it a 10-4 game.
Ramirez made it 11-4 with an RBI single in the eighth. The shortstop went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs. He now has six extra-base hits in this series. Singles by Gonzalez and Puig gave the Dodgers two more runs for good measure.
Jason Heyward hit a two-run shot off Paco Rodriguez in the top of the ninth for Atlanta's first long ball of the series.
In the other NLDS, the Pittsburgh Pirates took the 2-1 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals with a 5-3 victory in Game 3 earlier Sunday. (Yonhap News)
