By Jon Weisman
Last year, Hyun-Jin Ryu pitched 152 innings in 26 games at age 27 with a 3.38 ERA.
If Brett Anderson allows two earned runs in his first 4 2/3 innings against the Giants tonight, he will have pitched 152 innings in 26 games at age 27 with a 3.38 ERA.
It’s enough to make you marvel at what Anderson has accomplished, after totaling 123 innings over the previous three years, and it’s enough to make you rue Ryu’s absence after what he had accomplished the previous two years.
Despite the aforementioned similarities, Anderson and Ryu have not been the same pitcher.
Anderson has allowed more walks, contact and baserunners, but that surplus hasn’t led to more runs than Ryu allowed, perhaps because of Anderson’s extreme groundball ratio.
Ryu made four starts against the Giants in 2014, two of them good. By the time Anderson finishes his fourth start against the Giants tonight, hopefully two of them will have been good.
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