Dodgers’ Ryu wins against Giants’ Hwang
Los Angeles Dodgers’ South Korean starter Ryu Hyun-jin may not have won the game against the San Francisco Giants, but he did win a small battle within against the Giants’ Korean third baseman Hwang Jae-gyun.
Ryu tossed seven shutout innings against the Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday (local time), but he got a no-decision after getting lifted for pinch hitter Yasmani Grandal in the bottom seventh with the score tied at 0-0.
The contest had a subplot of interest to South Korean fans, as the Giants put Hwang in the sixth spot in the starting lineup, setting up the first all-Korean pitcher-batter duel of 2017 and 20th all-time in the majors.
Ryu got the upper hand in that matchup, as Hwang went 0-for-2 with a strikeout in his two at-bats against his close friend.
Ryu faced Hwang for the first time in the top second, with a man at first and one out. Hwang swung on a 3-2 fastball and grounded one to second baseman Logan Forsythe, who threw to shortstop Corey Seager to get the lead runner. Hwang was safe at first on a fielder’s choice.
In his next time up in the top fifth, Hwang went down swinging on three pitches. He fouled off the first-pitch fastball from Ryu and then whiffed on back-to-back changeups.
Hwang was replaced in the top eighth by pinch hitter Conor Gillaspie, who promptly hit a solo home run to put the Giants ahead 1-0.
The Giants couldn’t hold on to the lead, as the Dodgers tied it up in the bottom ninth on Yasiel Puig’s single. The Giants went up 2-1 in the top 11th on Joe Panik’s single, but rookie Kyle Farmer delivered a two-run double in the bottom 11th to lift the Dodgers to a 3-2 victory.
Ryu and Hwang, both 30, have been friends since their earlier days in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Ryu made his KBO debut in 2006, and Hwang joined him a year later. Hwang went 13-for-45 with two doubles and 10 strikeouts against Ryu in the KBO.
Both carved out All-Star careers in the KBO before taking their talents to the United States. Ryu reached the majors first, signing a six-year deal with the Dodgers in December 2012. Hwang signed with the Giants in January this year and began the season in Triple-A Sacramento before getting called up June 28.
He was demoted to Triple-A on July 22 but was called up again last week, just before the start of the three-game series against the Dodgers, which had three left-handers lined up as starters.
Ryu called his showdown against Hwang "significant" and said "it felt good" to see his friend at the plate.
But Ryu also made sure his personal feelings wouldn’t get in the way.
"I tried not to get hit, and I had good command of my pitches when Hwang Jae-gyun was at the plate," Ryu said. "I threw him everything in my repertoire, and I think the changeup worked the best. That’s why I was able to strike him out."
Hwang said he got flat-out beat by a better pitcher.
"It was kind of fun facing him, but I am a little disappointed that I didn’t do so well," Hwang said. "He just pitched so well. (In the second at-bat), he threw a great first-pitch fastball, down and away."
Their last KBO meeting came on Sept. 6, 2012, when Ryu started for the Hanwha Eagles, and Hwang played third base and batted sixth for the Lotte Giants.
Ryu threw eight shutout innings to help the Eagles to a 2-0 victory, while Hwang was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
The very first all-Korean duel happened in April 2004, when Kim Sun-woo of the Montreal Expos got Florida Marlins first baseman Choi Hee-seop to fly out to right field.
Last year, St. Louis Cardinals reliever Oh Seung-hwan faced Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Kang Jung-ho three times and Texas Rangers outfielder Choo Shin-soo once.
The Dodgers and the Giants will go at it again for a three-game set in San Francisco starting Sept. 11.