It is difficult to expect any role.”
Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays started the 2023 Major League Baseball match against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the 1st (Korean time) and finished 3. During the inning, he pitched 52 pitches, allowed 7 hits, walked out, struck out 1, and gave up 2 runs (2 earned).
Ryu Hyun-jin, who underwent Tommy John surgery last year, returned to the mound in July after a long rehabilitation. Starting with the Rookie League, Ryu Hyun-jin made a total of four rehabilitation appearances as he gradually increased his level. He pitched in four games and left an excellent record of 2 wins, no losses, and an ERA of 2.00, raising expectations for his return to the big league. And Ryu Hyun-jin, who returned to the mound, showed off his ‘healthiness’ with his skills.
Ryu Hyun-jin left a disappointing result, allowing 4 runs (4 earned) in 5 innings against the Baltimore Orioles in his first appearance back in the major leagues, but his second appearance was different. Ryu Hyun-jin pitched a ‘no-hit’ pitch in 4 innings in the match against the Cleveland Guardians, and then fought back against the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds, and the reunited Cleveland team, allowing 2 runs in 5 innings, and won his 3rd consecutive win.
After returning to the big leagues, Ryu Hyun-jin continued his good mood after posting excellent results with 3 wins, 1 loss, and an average ERA of 2.25 for a month. At Coors Field, the home of the Colorado Rockies, who had the worst performance throughout his career, Ryu Hyun-jin allowed two runs in five innings, allowed just two runs in five innings against the Oakland Athletics, and pitched the first six innings after returning against the Texas Rangers. digestion,
Despite hitting his ‘peak’ in the game against Texas, Ryu Hyun-jin, who was unable to achieve victory in the three games since September began, began to struggle little by little from his next appearance. Ryu Hyun-jin recorded 4⅔ innings of scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox, but pitched so hard that he gave up 6 hits and 2 walks. In addition, in his previous appearance against Tampa Bay, he hit 3 home runs and gave up 5 runs (5 earned) in 4⅓ innings, his worst pitching performance of the season.
Ryu Hyun-jin took on the ‘important responsibility’ of going on the mound as a starter in a situation where he could ‘secure’ an American League wild card ticket ‘on his own’, but on this day, after returning to the major league, he played only the fewest innings and left the mound. As a result, Toronto lost to Tampa Bay that day, but Texas confirmed its advancement to the postseason by defeating the Seattle Mariners, but Ryu Hyun-jin’s performance was disappointing.
It wasn’t easy for him from the start of the game. With one out and no runner on base in the first inning, Ryu Hyun-jin faced a crisis on first and third base after receiving consecutive hits from Randy Arozarena and Harold Ramirez. Here, Ryu Hyun-jin was targeted with a change-up that penetrated the low, outer strike zone on the first pitch against Isaac Paredis, allowing a timely hit that exceeded the height of the second baseman. Fortunately, he did not give up any additional runs in the ensuing first and second base crisis. Ryu Hyun-jin got off to a rough start by striking out Curtis Mead and tying out the follow-up batter, Josh Rowe, with a fly ball.
From the second episode onwards, he seemed to be gradually stabilizing. Ryu Hyun-jin suffered a hit from leadoff hitter Manual Margo, but finished the inning without a crisis by tying up the batting lineup of Christian Battancourt, Taylor Walls, and Junio Caminero. And in the top of the third inning, the leadoff hitter, Arozarena, was hit with a fly ball to right field, and the game was played out step by step. We climbed a large mountain called Arozarena, but the problem came afterward.
With no runner on base and one out, Ryu Hyun-jin was hit by consecutive hits from Ramirez and Paredis, putting him on the verge of conceding a run. Afterwards, he took a breather by turning Mid into a fly ball to right field, but the second pitch cutter he threw to Low was driven into the middle of the strike zone, leading to a one-run double, resulting in his second run. This time, the inning ended without allowing any additional runs, but he was not seen on the mound starting in the 4th inning.
On this day, Toronto created a tight game until the end of the regular inning after Ryu Hyun-jin started a fast-moving game, but lost 5-7 in overtime, unable to clear the magic number of advancing to the postseason ‘on their own’. However, as Texas defeated Seattle, the remaining magic number 1 disappeared, and Toronto was able to advance to the fall stage through the final wild card.
When the postseason begins, Toronto is expected to feature ‘ace’ Kevin Gausman in the first wild card game. And one of Chris Bassett and Jose Berrios is expected to take on the second starting role. And if he moves up to the upper round, there is a strong possibility that the player who did not serve as the second starter will take over as the third starter, and the fourth starter will be Yusei Kikuchi.
Initially, Ryu Hyun-jin played the season as the 4th starter, but as the pitching order was changed ahead of this appearance, he was pushed to the 5th starter. Due to the nature of the postseason, there is no need for a 5th starter, and with his recent poor performance, the possibility of seeing Ryu Hyun-jin on the fall stage as a starting pitcher has become very low. Therefore, there is a higher possibility that we will see a somewhat unfamiliar appearance as a bullpen pitcher in the postseason.
In an interview with local media after the game on the 1st, Ryu Hyun-jin was asked about moving to the post-season bullpen, and said, “It’s not something a player can refuse. If they say he has to throw in a certain position and in a certain situation, he has to accept it. And accordingly. “I will prepare to do a good job,” he said, expressing his intention to do his best in the given mission.
While Ryu Hyun-jin has appeared in a total of 186 games since entering the Major League, he has only been on the mound as a bullpen pitcher once. On May 26, 2017, while he was playing for the LA Dodgers, Ryu Hyun-jin went on the mound in the 6th inning in a match against the St. Louis Cardinals and earned a save by recording 4 scoreless innings.토토사이트
On May 26, 2017, when he was a member of the Jus, he appeared in relief in the 6th inning against the St. Louis Cardinals, and pitched like a starting pitcher, allowing 2 hits and no runs in 4 innings, earning his only save in the big league. However, there was even a possibility that he might not be on the roster at all in this postseason. ‘MLB.com’ reported, “On the pitcher side, it is difficult to expect any role for Ryu Hyun-jin, the fifth starter, on this roster.”
From Toronto’s point of view, it may be more effective to use other bullpen resources or entry as a fielder rather than adding Ryu Hyun-jin, who does not have much bullpen experience like Kikuchi and is a fifth starter and has been struggling, to the roster. With Ryu Hyun-jin’s position greatly shaken after finishing the season with early defeats in three consecutive games, it remains to be seen whether he can be included in the postseason entry list.
