Hyun-Jin Ryu tosses another gem as Dodgers win series

Stop me if you’ve heard this before.

Hyun-Jin Ryu was good. Really good. He continued his campaign towards being the All-Star Game starter on Thursday night, as he threw 7 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings in the Dodgers’ 2-0 victory over the Mets.

It’s the seventh time he’s thrown at least seven innings this year, and the fourth time he’s thrown at least seven while not allowing a run. His ERA for the season is now 1.48, the lowest in all of baseball. In addition, he struck out seven and walked one, which actually made his strikeout-to-walk ratio lower.

New York only was able to string together four hits off Ryu, and each time they did, they were held in check. They had a chance in the second to get on the board after a walk and a single put runners on first and second with one out. Ryu responded by getting back-to-back outs, escaping the inning untouched.

He’d retire the next 10 batters until a single with two outs in the fifth gave the Mets another opportunity with a runner on. To no surprise, Ryu got the third out, and was through five scoreless innings.

The biggest test for him came in the seventh, as Pete Alonso led the inning off with a double. Ryu proved yet again why he might be the best pitcher in baseball, getting three consecutive outs, without allowing Alonso to advance to third.

To the surprise of everyone, Ryu went back out there in the eighth, even though he had already thrown 100 pitches. He would exit the game with two outs and a runner on first. With the tying run on first, Dave Roberts turned to Kenley Jansen for the four-out save. Jansen would get the strike out to end the inning, guaranteeing Ryu gets the win or a no-decision.

Switching things over to the hitting side of things, LA’s first run came two batters into the game. Chris Taylor led the inning off with a triple, and Max Muncy followed with a double to give the Dodgers the 1-0 lead.

Much like the Mets’ offense, the Dodgers couldn’t get anything going at the plate, well at least until the eighth inning. David Freese would double with one out, and would come home to score on a single from Enrique Hernandez, giving the Dodgers the 2-0 lead.

Drama would ensue in the ninth, as Alonso took first after a hit-by-pitch. The tying run was up for the Mets with only one out. Jansen bounced back with a strikeout and fly-out to win the game.

Thursday particulars

WP: Hyun-Jin Ryu (8-1) 7 ²⁄₃ IP, 0 ER, 7 SO, 1 BB

LP: Jason Vargas (1-3) 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 SO, 3 BB

SV: Kenley Jansen (16) 1 ¹⁄₃ IP, 2 SO