The “Korean Monster,” Hyun-jin Ryu (36-Toronto Blue Jays), will once again attempt to win four games this season.
The Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday announced the starting pitchers for their upcoming three-game series against the Oakland Athletics, which will take place May 5-7 (ET) at LeCentral Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt will start Games 5 and 6, respectively, while Hyun-jin Ryu will face JP Sears on Game 7.
After more than a year of rehabilitation following elbow ligament reconstruction surgery, Hyun-jin Ryu has been preparing for his big league return with four live appearances and a final bullpen session.
Ryu, who made his comeback at home against the Baltimore Orioles on August 2, took the loss in his first start, giving up four runs on nine hits (one home run) in five innings with one walk and three strikeouts, but he gradually found his groove, winning three consecutive starts on August 14 against the Chicago Cubs, 21 against the Cincinnati Reds, and 27 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Ryu also lived up to his team’s expectations at Coors Field, the “graveyard of pitchers,” where he started a game against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 2, giving up two runs on four hits (one home run) in five innings with two walks and three strikeouts before turning the ball over to the bullpen.
Prior to this game, Ryu had struggled at Coors Field, going 1-4 with a 7.09 ERA in six games and 26⅔ innings, with a whopping eight home runs allowed. His career record against Colorado wasn’t much better, going 5-7 with a 4.85 ERA in 15 games and 78 innings, with 16 home runs.
On this day, however, Ryu overcame both the deficit and the Coors Field nightmare. In particular, Ryu’s crisis management skills were on full display, as he escaped the jam despite unfavorable ball calls. Canadian outlet Sportsnet applauded his pitching, saying, “Ryu’s five innings of two-run ball at Coors Field is the equivalent of a seven-inning no-hitter (elsewhere).”
Now, as Ryu looks for his fourth win of the season, he’ll be pitching on four days’ rest for the first time since the start of the season. It’s a bit of a departure from his previous outings, where he started on five or six days’ rest. However, Ryu was removed from the game in Colorado after throwing just 76 pitches, so he’s not facing much of a physical challenge.
The Oakland A’s, like their last opponent, are not a very tough team to beat. The A’s are 42-95 (.307) this season and are in last place in the American League West. Their team batting average and OPS are .224 and .670, respectively, which are both dead last in the entire American League.
However, Oakland’s bats have been hitting well enough that the A’s swept a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox on May 25 and a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on June 2-4. In the midst of it all, they’ll need to be wary of outfielder Brent Rooker, who’s showing off his power with 23 home runs this season.
If there’s a change from the previous outing, it’s that starting catcher Danny Jansen is on the disabled list (IL) with a fractured middle finger in his right hand and won’t be able to share time with Ryu for the time being. Alejandro Kirk or Tyler Heinemann are likely to take his place.
In his six appearances this season, Ryu has shown a variety of pitches in addition to his fastball, including a curveball, changeup, and cut fastball. It remains to be seen if Ryu’s strengths will be utilized in the absence of his starting catcher.스포츠토토
This three-game series is not only important for Ryu, but also for Toronto. Sitting in the fourth wild-card spot in the American League, the Jays pulled within 1.5 games of the third wild-card spot, the Houston Astros, with back-to-back sweeps of the Washington Nationals on April 29-31 and the Colorado Rockies on April 2-4. With so few games remaining, every win is worth more, and it will be interesting to see if the Jays can build on that in Oakland.