Hyun-Jin Ryu falls when Dodgers can’t handle Madison Bumgarner, 3-0
The big uncertainty was supposed to be Hyun-Jin Ryu, the South Korean left-hander making his first major league start. All kinds of interest and suspense.
Ryu dodged much trouble throughout his debut Tuesday night, but supported by three double plays, allowed only one earned run in his 6 1/3 innings.
Trouble was, the Dodgers were left with a new uncertainty in Justin Sellers, the defensive whiz who had unexpectedly won the starting shortstop job because of his glove.
Sellers threw two balls away for errors in the seventh inning, allowing a pair of unearned runs to score in a 3-0 loss to the Giants and their sensational left-hander Madison Bumgarner before a Dodger Stadium crowd of 45,431.
Bumgarner was masterful all night, retiring 23 of his first 24 batters, including 18 in a row. He shut out the Dodgers for eight innings on two hits — doubles by Andre Ethier in the second and A.J. Ellis in the eighth — while striking out six without giving up a base on balls.
Sergio Romo pitched the ninth to earn the save and complete the two-hit shutout.
Ryu made things interesting right from the start Tuesday, giving up a pair of hits to his first two batters. But then came the first key double play, and the night was off.
The Giants scratched a run together in the fourth on three consecutive singles to center. First baseman Joaquin Ariaz’s bouncer up the middle scored the Giants’ first run of the season.
It remained a 1-0 game until Sellers got Ryu into trouble in the seventh. Charging an Arias bouncer, he threw past first baseman Adrian Gonzalez for an error. Andres Torres followed with a single to right.
After Brandon Crawford bounced out to Gonzalez, and both runners advanced, Manager Don Mattingly called on reliever Ronald Belisario. With the infield in, Bumgarner hit a bouncer to Sellers, who thought he had a play at the plate on Arias.
But this throw also sailed wide, well out of reach of catcher A.J. Ellis for another error, as both runners scored to give the Giants the 3-0 lead.
Ryu was not the dominant pitcher the Dodgers had seen in his last two spring starts but was at least modestly effective. He surrendered 10 hits, all singles, and did not walk a batter. He struck out five.
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