‘Korean Monster’ Ryu Hyun-jin showed off his best pitching of the season, recording a quality start (3 earned runs or less in 6 innings) in 480 days after returning from Tommy John surgery. However, there were two points of disappointment. He has hit home runs in four consecutive games and is silent in the batting lineup.온라인바카라

Ryu Hyun-jin started the home match against the Texas Rangers in the 2023 Major League Baseball League held at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the 13th (Korean time) and pitched 82 pitches, allowed 5 hits (1 home run), walked 5, struck out 5, and allowed 3 runs in 6 innings. He recorded his first quality start since returning from surgery with (3 earned runs), but suffered his third loss of the season. His earned run average rose from 2.65 to 2.93.

Ryu Hyun-jin, who is being thoroughly managed by the club because he underwent Tommy John surgery, experienced the disappointment of losing in his return game. However, from the second game, he began to show his true value. After pitching 4 no-hit innings against the Cleveland Guardians, Ryu Hyun-jin showed solid pitching in the match between the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland, allowing 2 runs in 5 innings, and ran for his 3rd consecutive win.

The problem was September. At Coors Field, the home stadium of the Colorado Rockies, who had shown poor performance throughout his career, Ryu Hyun-jin showed off his potential by allowing only 2 runs in 5 innings. In his previous match against the Oakland Athletics, he also allowed 2 runs in 5 innings. However, in the game against Colorado, the bullpen was unable to preserve the victory, and against Oakland, the batting line was silent and did not achieve victory despite doing ‘their part’.

Hyun-Jin Ryu was given the important role of starting pitcher in Toronto’s most difficult situation, as he had nothing to do with victory. Before the game on the 13th, Toronto was ranked 2nd in the American League wild card, but was 0.5 games behind Texas and 1 game behind the Seattle Mariners. Ryu Hyun-jin showed off his best pitching after Tommy John surgery, but his one home run hit was too harsh.

Ryu Hyun-jin was perfect in the early part of the game

. Ryu Hyun-jin’s early game was solid. The only blemish was that he only walked one in the first inning. In the first inning, Ryu Hyun-jin caught leadoff hitter Marcus Semien with a foul fly to first base and then tied up Corey Seager with a grounder to second base, catching Semien-Seager, who can be considered the strongest ‘table setter’ in the major league. Afterwards, he gave up a walk in the game against Robbie Grossman, but set up the follow-up batter, Mitch Garber, on a catcher’s foul fly, ending a scoreless start.

The Texas batting line is ranked 2nd in team batting average and 3rd in OPS among 30 major league teams, and its offensive power is so outstanding that both of these indicators rank first in the American League. However, it was not a big obstacle for Ryu Hyun-jin. Ryu Hyun-jin was helped by Cavan Biggio’s catch on Jonah Haim’s third baseman’s strike in the second inning, and he turned all subsequent batters, including Nate Rowe and Ezekiel Duran, into fly balls, creating the first ‘three-way strike’ inning.

The lean pitching continued in the third inning. Ryu Hyun-jin made his first out count by catching lead hitter Leo Di Taveras with a fly ball to first base. Then, in the game against Jonathan Oneras, he struck out his first strikeout by hitting an 89.9 mile (approximately 144.7 km) four-seam ball toward his body on the fifth pitch. And when he tied up former Toronto teammate Semien with a ground ball to shortstop, he literally blocked the best batting line in the American League.

Ryu Hyun-jin, who hit a home run in two consecutive games,

had a solid pitching performance of 5 innings and 2 runs in 5 consecutive games until this day, but if he had any regrets, it was the home run. Although it did not have a significant impact on the win or loss, Ryu Hyun-jin hit two home runs in a match against the Cleveland Guardians on the 27th of last month. In addition, he allowed one home run in the game against the Colorado Rockies held at Coors Field on the 2nd. In the case of Coors Field, because it is located in a high mountain area, the distance of batted balls tends to be longer, but the home runs in two consecutive games were definitely disappointing.

Of all the home runs Hyun-jin Ryu has hit this season, the most violent one was in his previous appearance. While Ryu Hyun-jin was ahead 1-0 in the match against the Oakland Athletics, he hit a four-seam fastball to Carlos Perez on the low course of the fifth pitch, but was attacked and allowed a two-run home run. Toronto’s batting line, which had provided plenty of scoring support when Ryu Hyun-jin took the mound, was silent in the game, and the home run was the decisive factor in Ryu Hyun-jin suffering his second loss.

What Ryu Hyun-jin should have been most wary of on this day was a home run, and the concerns became reality. Ryu Hyun-jin, who had tied up the Texas batting lineup until the third inning, started the inning in the top of the fourth when he was hit by leadoff batter Seager. First hit. Ryu Hyun-jin allowed a hit by using a cutter to Seager, but he also chose a cutter on the first pitch to the follow-up hitter Grossman. However, this ball ended up in the middle of the strike zone rather than toward Grossman’s body, and it led to a two-run home run that went over the left wall.

As the opposing starting pitcher was Max Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and a Major League Living Legend, the home runs he allowed while pitching flawlessly had a significant impact. What was fortunate, though, was that despite Haim’s third hit of the day, he ended the inning by tying up the Texas lineup without allowing any runs.

Toronto Blue Jays Ryu Hyun-jin./Getty Images Korea

Ryu Hyun-jin, in his first quality start since returning (6 innings, 3 earned runs or less),

gave up a home run and continued to struggle alone without receiving support from the batting line. However, the dignity of a veteran who went through many hardships shone through. Against Taveras in the 5th inning, Ryu Hyun-jin struck out a 90.6 mph (approximately 145.8 km) four-seamer, the fastest ball of the day, toward his body, and struck out the batting line of Oneras and Semien once again, allowing 2 runs in 5 innings. recorded.

Ryu Hyun-jin often did not go on the mound in the 6th inning, even when he was cruising with 2 runs in 5 innings under Toronto’s thorough management. But this day was different. At the end of the 5th inning, Ryu Hyun-jin had only 62 pitches, and since there was no reason not to use Ryu Hyun-jin in the 6th inning, manager John Schneider decided to leave it to Ryu, who was doing a good job blocking Texas’ hard-hitting line, for the 6th inning.

The results of the 6th episode were definitely disappointing. But the first quality start was definitely meaningful. Ryu Hyun-jin was in danger as he was hit by Seager on a double at the start of the 6th inning. Here, he seemed to take a breather by striking out Grossman, but he was hit by a hit by Garber, the follow-up batter, and ended up on first and third base. But Ryu Hyun-jin did not waver. In this situation, a ‘double play’ was the play that could produce the best results, but Ryu Hyun-jin calmly guided Haim to a fly ball and chose to exchange one out count for one point.

And finally, Quality Start was completed. Toronto prepared a bullpen with the intention of replacing pitchers if Ryu Hyun-jin gets a hit or throws out a runner. However, in the ensuing game with two outs and a runner on first base, Ryu Hyun-jin caused a missed swing by thrusting an 89.3 mile (approximately 143.7 km) four-seam fastball on the fourth pitch to Rowe on a high course outside the strike zone, ending the inning without allowing any additional runs. As a result, Ryu Hyun-jin recorded a quality start 480 days after the Cincinnati game on May 21 last year.

Robbie Grossman celebrates after hitting a home run against Ryu Hyun-jin./Getty Images Korea

Max Scherzer coming off the mound due to a sudden injury./Getty Images Korea

Toronto’s batting lineup was silent again, a loss despite the best pitching.

Ryu Hyun-jin left the mound after holding Oakland to two runs in five innings in his previous appearance. However, they were unable to attack the Oakland Mound, the ‘weakest team’ in the major leagues, and fell to 2-5, and despite Ryu Hyun-jin’s solid pitching, he suffered his second loss of the season. The pitching on this day was the same. Despite the quality start, Toronto’s batting line did not respond.

A face-off between Scherzer and Ryu Hyun-jin. It was Texas that broke the tight flow first. Texas succeeded in taking the lead in the fourth inning when Grossman hit a two-run home run against Ryu Hyun-jin with no outs on first base on Seager’s hit. And in the 6th inning, with a chance on 1st and 3rd base created by Seager’s double and Garber’s single, Haim traded his out and scored a run, widening the gap to 0-3.

The Texas batting line’s scoring streak continued. After Ryu Hyun-jin left the mound, Toronto, despite being in a losing situation, brought in Garcia, a sure-to-win teammate, to give the game a boost. However, Garcia hit consecutive doubles to Taveras and Josh Smith, widening the gap to 0-4, and Tim Maiza, who took over the baton again, gave up a timely hit to Seager, clearly tilting the victory in favor of Texas.

The problem was Toronto’s batting lineup. It is an undeniable fact that Scherzer is a pitcher with a great career. However, he is not a player who cannot be targeted at all. Toronto had a chance to score in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a double by Kevin Biggio and a walk by Dalton Basho, but the team remained scoreless and did not hit a decisive hit. Moreover, in the 3rd inning, with a chance to score with 2 outs and runners on first base, Bo Bichette bowed his head in a double play, and in the 4th inning, he failed to capitalize on the scoring opportunity with 2 outs and runners on second base.

An ‘opportunity’ also came to Toronto, who missed two scoring opportunities. Scherzer, who had been pitching solidly, suddenly complained of abnormal symptoms and voluntarily left the mound. Toronto began chasing Texas by scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Then, Texas actually scored a run in the top of the 9th inning, putting a wedge in the win. Toronto chased down Texas again with Schneider’s home run in the bottom of the 9th inning, but it was not easy to turn the game around, and they lost 3-6. With this, Toronto recorded its second consecutive loss, and Texas recorded its fourth consecutive win.

Despite Ryu Hyun-jin’s quality start, Toronto suffered the worst situation after losing to Texas. Toronto, which had lost by 0.5 games to Texas in the wild card competition the previous day (the 12th), was now in a situation where it had to take down Texas. And depending on the result of the match between the LA Angels and Seattle Mariners, they could be pushed to 4th place in the wild card competition, which allows up to 3rd place to obtain a postseason ticket.