Hyun-Jin Ryu became the Dodgers’ No. 1 starter by default when the season began, yet there is no denying his importance now as the most consistent member of the Los Angeles rotation.
Clayton Kershaw remains the Dodgers’ must-see attraction, but it is Ryu who has put together what is shaping up to be his best season at age 32 during an injury-riddled career. He was the Dodgers’ Opening Day starter with Kershaw on the injured list and has not looked back from there.
Ryu (4-1, 2.03 ERA) will get another chance to prove his worth Sunday afternoon opposite the Washington Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg (3-2, 3.71) in the finale of a four-game series at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers could use another stellar outing after the Nationals won two of the first three games in the series. Washington rallied with five runs in the eighth inning for a 5-2 victory Saturday.
In his last outing, Ryu celebrated the revival of an entity that appeared headed for extinction: the complete-game shutout, under 100 pitches.
Ryu needed just 93 pitches in Tuesday’s 9-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
It was the first complete game from a Dodgers pitcher since Rich Hill had one in 2017 at Pittsburgh. The last time a Dodgers pitcher had a complete-game shutout, Kershaw pulled off the feat in 2016 at home against the Reds.
Ryu did not walk a batter Tuesday and has allowed just two walks to 45 strikeouts this season. He has not walked a batter at home since Aug. 26 of last season, giving him 56 innings and 207 plate appearances at Dodger Stadium without allowing a free pass.
“I think I am at a point where I can throw a strike whenever I want to,” Ryu said through an interpreter after his start on Tuesday. “This means a lot to me. For any starting pitcher, tossing a complete game shutout means he had the best day he could on the mound.”
Ryu is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 18 2/3 innings in his career against Washington. He last faced the Nationals in April of last season, giving up just two hits over seven scoreless innings of a Dodgers’ victory.
As a three-time All-Star, Strasburg is familiar with being on top of his game like Ryu is now. Strasburg is just 3-2 after eight starts, but he has a 3.71 ERA and with 68 strikeouts, he is on pace for his third season of at least 200.
Strasburg is coming off an outing Tuesday at Milwaukee where he matched a season-high with 11 strikeouts, but the Brewers rallied with four runs off of him in the seventh inning and the Nationals were dealt a 6-0 defeat.
“I thought I executed pretty well,” Strasburg said, according to mlb.com. “Just a tough one. Just one of those games.”
With a lack of run support and some porous defense, the Nationals pitchers have bemoaned their tough luck a number of times. But against the previously red-hot Dodgers they have been getting the kind of play the are looking for, outside of Friday’s 5-0 defeat.
While Cody Bellinger carried the Dodgers in the early going, Strasburg figures to have his hands full with Justin Turner on Sunday. Turner hit a home run Saturday and now has five home runs in the last four games he has played.
Turner is 3-for-8 against Strasburg in his career with two home runs. Against the Dodgers in his career, Strasburg is 2-4 with a 2.64 ERA in nine starts.