Adjustments pay off, as Ryu shuts down the Rangers
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Hyun Jin Ryu threw a three-hitter for his third career shutout and Danny Jansen hit a home run for Toronto to lead the Blue Jays to a 5-0 win over the Texas Rangers in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday.
Ryu (9-5) went the full seven innings, striking out four and walking one in his first shutout since May 7, 2019 with the Dodgers against Atlanta.
“During the bullpen sessions I had before the all-star break, I talked with (pitching coach) Pete (Walker) and we discussed how my arm slot and release point had been dropping a bit,” Ryu said through a translator. “Today I was able to get on top again and that resulted in the changeup and the rest of my pitches to be a little faster than normal.”
The Blue Jays, winners of three straight, took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI groundout by Marcus Semien and a run-scoring single by Bo Bichette. Jansen led off the fifth inning with his fifth homer and Randal Grichuk added a sixthinning sacrifice fly to provide insurance.
Kolby Allard (2-6) allowed five runs, seven hits and a walk over 5 1/3 innings for Texas, which has lost four in a row and eight of its last 11.
Ryu escaped trouble in the second inning with the game still scoreless. He allowed a leadoff triple to Joey Gallo but struck out John Hicks and induced a soft infield popout by Eli White before fanning David Dahl to end the threat.
The game took 1 hour, 48 minutes, the shortest game this season in the major leagues. Detroit and the Chicago White Sox played a doubleheader opener in 1:50 on April 29.
In the second game, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a first-inning grand slam, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slugged his 31st homer of the season, and George Springer and Grichuk also went deep for Toronto as the Blue Jays cruised to a 10-0 win over the Rangers and a sweep of their doubleheader.
Steven Matz and two relievers combined for a three-hitter, and Toronto swept a doubleheader with two shutouts for the first time in team history.
It was the first time the Rangers were shut out twice in a day since the team moved to Texas. On May 23, 1971, the Washington Senators were swept at Detroit by 5-0 and 11-0 scores.