The entire stadium chanted the starting pitcher's name in unison: "Ry-u! Ry-u!"Blue towels waved furiously in the background. The game, and the crowd, belonged to Hyun-Jin Ryu, who finished the at-bat by uncorking a low 91-mph fastball. Ender Inciarte swung and missed.
The miracle wasn't the seven scoreless innings Ryu pitched Thursday in the Dodgers' postseason opener, a 6-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of their National League Division Series. The miracle was that he was pitching at all at this stage of the year.
Ryu was four years removed from his last postseason appearance.