Game #89 Preview: Allard vs Ryu

After last night’s win, the Blue Jays will look to make it two in a row against the visiting Rangers this afternoon. Gametime is set for 3:07 ET.

Blue Jays’ Starter

Hyun Jin Ryu gets his second half underway, pitching today on 10 days of rest, the second longest break between starts for him this year (he went 11 days after straining his glute in April). Having a bit of a break probably wasn’t a bad thing for Ryu, who has looked a bit underwhelming since the start of June, although his last start was definitely better. He allowed just 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 7, but also only pitching 5 innings and walking 2 batters. So the good parts (more strikeouts than innings for the first time since May, second start with just 1 run allowed since May) were probably better than the bad (high pitch count per inning, 2 walks, it was just the Orioles).

Ryu faced the Rangers back in early April, and had a great outing. He pitched 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits, walked none and struck out 7. Nick Solak hit a home run, and Ryu ended up taking the loss as the offence was quiet and the Jays lost 2-1.

Rangers’ Starter

Kolby Allard gets the start for the Rangers, his 9th start and 19th appearance overall. He started the season in the bullpen, but managed to force his way into the rotation, and has made all 8 starts in his last 8 appearances. He has managed to pitch into the 6th inning 5 straight games, so his stamina seems to be fully built up.

As a starter this year, Allard is 1-6 with a 3.95 ERA, a rough record to go with a fairly strong ERA. He was pitching a bit better in the bullpen, which brings his season ERA down to a 3.69 ERA. In 63.1 total innings, he has 61 strikeouts against just 13 walks, a pretty impressive ratio.

Blue Jays’ Lineup

Rangers’ Lineup

Yesterday’s Heroes

Jake Cronenworth went 4-5, hitting for the cycle and driving in 4 runs to take home the Monster Bat award. He helped his Padres to the 24-8 shellacking of the Nationals.

Jed Lowrie hit a walk-off, 2-run home run with 1 out to take home the WPA King trophy. He also contributed an RBI single in the 4th inning, and a big single in the 7th, and his full day WPA total was an incredible .956 in the Athletics’ 5-4 win over Cleveland.

Robbie Ray threw 6.2 shutout innings, allowing 4 hits and 2 walks to take home the Pitcher of the Day honours. He also got the win, as we all know the Jays beat the Rangers 10-2.

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Stats retrieved from Fangraphs and Baseball Savant