TORONTO — Hyun-Jin Ryu's return to a major-league mound did not go as he or the Toronto Blue Jays hoped.
Anthony Santander's grand slam blew the game open as the Baltimore Orioles routed Toronto 13-3 on Tuesday to spoil Ryu's return from Tommy John surgery. It had taken the 36-year-old South Korean nearly 14 months to recover from the operation on his throwing arm.
"It was a mixture of nervousness and excitement," said Ryu through translator Jun Sung Park. "Unfortunately, I didn't perform the way I wanted to, but I was just happy to be back on the mound.
"I'm going to make sure that I perform better next time out."
Ryu (0-1) allowed nine hits and a walk but limited Baltimore to four runs over five-plus innings. It was Ryu's first start of 2023 after undergoing ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction — commonly known as Tommy John surgery — last summer for the second time of his career.
"I'm very satisfied just to be back," said Ryu. "Honestly, I was a little sad that I wasn't able to do what a starting pitcher is needed to do.
"But I'm going to focus on the fact that I went out there for more than five innings. I'm going to try to do what I can from now on."
Trevor Richards, Genesis Cabrera, Nate Pearson and Jordan Hicks came out of the bullpen, with Cabrera, Pearson and Hicks giving up nine runs.
Ryu struggled through his six starts in 2022, earning just two wins with a 5.67 earned-run average before his season ended with surgery in June of that year.
Most Tommy John operations take 18 months to recover from but Ryu was back at the major-league level in less than 14.
"You really can't ignore everything that he did to get to this point," said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. "Happy for him to be back and contributing with us."
Gunnar Henderson went 2 for 4 at the plate, including a solo homer, driving in four runs as Baltimore (66-41) won its third straight. Ryan Mountcastle had two RBI doubles, Ryan McKenna added a two-run single, and Adley Rutschman drove in a run with a hit.
Kyle Bradish (7-6) struck out seven, allowing three runs on four hits over seven innings. Relievers Cionel Perez and Joey Krehbiel did not allow a run.
Danny Jansen had a two-run homer and Brandon Belt added a solo shot as Toronto (59-49) dropped its third straight decision.
Rutschman and Mountcastle had back-to-back doubles to lead off the game. Mountcastle's hit easily scored Rutschman. Henderson then tacked on another run, hitting into a fielder's choice that plated Mountcastle for an early 2-0 Baltimore lead and a concerning start to Ryu's night.
Rutschman did damage again in the second inning, singling to left field to drive in Ramon Urias.
But Ryu settled down after that, facing 11 batters in the next three innings. The Blue Jays' solid defence backed him up with a double play ending the third and fifth innings.
"Kind of got ambushed early there in the first, but that was kind of what we expected navigating a tough lineup," said Schneider. "I thought he got better as his outing went on."
Toronto's offence also backed Ryu up in the bottom of the second, with Matt Chapman leading off with a single. Jansen then hammered the first pitch he saw 405 feet cut the Orioles' lead to one to the delight of the 40,691 fans at Rogers Centre.
It was Jansen's 15th homer of the season, matching his career high set last year.
Belt tied it 3-3 in the third, taking a 95.5 m.p.h. four-seam fastball from Bradish 395 feet.
Ryu's night ended after he gave up a solo shot to Henderson to start the sixth. Henderson's 18th homer of the season stayed just inside the right-field foul netting to re-establish Baltimore's lead.
Mountcastle tacked on another run in the seventh, doubling Jorge Mateo across the plate.
Henderson struck yet again three batters later. His hit to shallow left field scored Mountcastle and Austin Hays as Baltimore added three runs in the inning for a 7-3 lead.
After getting two outs to start the eighth, Pearson got into trouble.
He walked three consecutive Orioles to load the bases and then Santander crushed the ball 403 feet to the ballpark's second deck for the second grand slam of his career and 19th home run of his season.
McKenna extended Baltimore's lead in the ninth, drawing boos from the remaining fans at Rogers Centre, when his RBI single cashed in Henderson and Jordan Westburg for a 10-run advantage.
BICHETTE DAY-TO -DAY — Blue Jays all-star shortstop Bo Bichette is day to day with right knee discomfort. Bichette left the game in the third inning of Toronto's 4-2 loss to Baltimore on Monday after he seemingly jammed his knee when stopping suddenly while running the basepaths. An MRI of the 25-year-old's knee revealed no significant structural damage, just some inflammation.
ON DECK — Yusei Kikuchi (8-3) will start for Toronto in the third game of the four-game series with Baltimore.
Grayson Rodriguez (2-2) will take the mound for the Orioles.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2023.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
