Dodgers: Hyun-Jin Ryu Earns Praise From His Manager
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts joined MLB Network Radio today and was asked about his feelings on ace starter Hyun-Jin Ryu’s dominant streak here in 2019.
#Dodgers Hyun-Jin Ryu just finished May with a 5-0 record, a 0.59 ERA and a 36/3 K/BB ratio. Dave Roberts loved watching every single minute of it. pic.twitter.com/Btjw47db7e
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) May 31, 2019
On Ryu, Roberts had this to say:
I’ve never seen him like this. Obviously being healthy is first and foremost, but I’ll say this — you’ve seen pitchers that have dominated over a certain period of time in recent years, but I think that the way he’s doing it, for me, is really fun to watch.
He expanded into how Ryu has been getting it done 2019 without his stuff having “ticked up.”
There’s a 4-pitch mix, and there’s an east to west, there’s an up/down, there’s a front to back component on how he’s getting guys out. When he needs the grounder, he can get the grounder. When he needs a punch, he can do that. His confidence and conviction on how he’s attacking hitters… it’s really fun to watch.
Dave added more in the full clip, but an important takeaway is that he at time seemed at a loss for words when it comes to how good Hyun-Jin Ryu has been this season.
The 32 year-old left-hander out of South Korea has posted an ERA of 1.74 over his last 155.1 IP between 2018 and 2019. He’s always been good when healthy, but now he is downright phenomenal.
I don’t think I’ve seen a Dodger pitcher that has this much command of his pitches in a long time. Kershaw is different. Ryu is toying with batters. So much fun to watch. He’s been amazing: and seems like such a great dude.