Undone by a shaky fifth inning, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays came up an out shy of qualifying for a victory in his second straight Opening Day assignment.
The South Korean left-hander was charged with three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Friday, local time. He left with two outs in the fifth and the Jays leading 6-3 with a man at second base. Reliever Jordan Romano walked the first batter he faced but struck out Brandon Lowe to end the threat.
The Blue Jays hung on for a 6-4 win, with the Rays going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
An otherwise solid, typical Ryu outing turned sour quickly in that fateful fifth inning.
The Jays had just spotted him a 6-1 lead in the top fifth, and Ryu got two quick groundouts in the bottom fifth. (Yonhap)