Ryu extends scoreless streak to 31 innings as Dodgers roll
CINCINNATI (AP) — Hyun-Jin Ryu's shutout streak rolls on.
Ryu blanked the Reds over seven innings to extend his major league-leading streak to 31, Cody Bellinger hit his 17th homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Cincinnati 8-3 on Sunday.
"He's just locked in right now with all of his pitches," manager Dave Roberts said of his starting pitcher. "It's fun to watch. He's healthy. The conditions, the situations don't matter."
Ryu (6-1) had baserunners in each of his first five innings, but none of them got past second base and he retired his last eight batters. Ryu allowed five hits with one walk and five strikeouts and lowered his ERA to a National League-best 1.52 for the season. He went into the game second behind Milwaukee's Zach Davies.
"I wasn't crisp, especially early in the game," Ryu said through a translator. "There was a lot of traffic out there. I was able to execute the right pitches at the right time."
Alex Verdugo drove in three runs and Russell Martin added a solo homer for the West Division-leading Dodgers.
Verdugo's RBI double gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the second inning and they added a run in the third on a fielder's choice.
Reds right fielder Yasiel Puig hit the wall while making a catch with the bases loaded to end the sixth inning.
Puig leaped and reached into the stands down the right-field line to catch Ryu's fly ball while colliding with the padded wall. He was on the warning track for a few seconds before jogging off the field, rubbing his left elbow.
He batted in the bottom of the inning before leaving the game after the seventh with what manager David Bell said was a sprained right shoulder.
"I felt a little bit tight," Puig said. "I take that AB after that I told them I don't feel good. My elbow I hit on the concrete, but I feel good about that."
Bellinger, who entered the game second in the NL in home runs behind Milwaukee's Christian Yelich, smacked left-handed relief pitcher Wandy Peralta's first pitch deep to center field, where it glanced off the glove of the leaping Nick Senzel and over the fence for a two-run homer.
"With Cody right now, it doesn't matter who's coming into the game," Roberts said.
The Dodgers added six runs against a Cincinnati bullpen that went into the game with a league-best 3.10 combined ERA.
Bellinger's homer made it 4-0 in the seventh inning. Martin gave Los Angeles a 5-0 lead in the eighth and the Dodgers added three runs in the ninth on a wild pitch and Verdugo's two-run double.
"The bullpen has done such a good job," Bell said. "That's going to happen. The game came down to one hit. The Bellinger home run was the difference in the game. It changed everything."
The Reds avoided being blanked in the ninth with Jose Peraza's two-out, two-run homer and Derek Dietrich's pinch-hit solo shot.
Reds starter Tanner Roark (3-3) tied his season high with seven strikeouts while allowing just two hits and two runs with three walks in five innings. He is 0-3 in his three starts against the Dodgers.
THROWBACK SUNDAY
As part of the franchise's celebration of the 150th anniversary of the first professional team, the Reds wore replica of the 1912 home uniforms, the third of 15 throwback uniforms they will wear this season.
LOST GLOVE
Cincinnati's Nick Senzel sent Dodger third baseman Justin Turner's glove flying when the two made contact while Turner was chasing Eugenio Suarez's popup that ended the third inning. Shortstop Corey Seager made the catch.
WELCOME, KYLE
After joining the Dodgers on Friday, Kyle Garlick made his major league debut on Sunday, flying out to left field as the pinch-hitter for Ryu in the eighth inning.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Dodgers: Third baseman Justin Turner returned to the starting lineup after being limited on Saturday to pinch-hitting by a left shin contusion, the result of a foul tip on Friday.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: After Monday's day off, LHP Clayton Kershaw (3-0) is the scheduled starter on Tuesday at Tampa Bay in Los Angeles's first interleague series of the season.
Reds: After Monday's day off, RHP Sonny Gray (0-4) is the scheduled starter on Tuesday as Cincinnati opens a five-game road trip with the first of two in Milwaukee.
