After undergoing elbow ligament reconstruction surgery (Tommy John surgery) in June of last year, it was important to see how Hyun-jin Ryu (36, Toronto Blue Jays) would fare upon his return this year.
Ryu, who signed a four-year, $80 million contract with Toronto after the 2019 season, will be eligible for free agency after this season.
In his mid-30s, Ryu’s comeback from his third elbow surgery was met with some skepticism.토토사이트
However, Ryu has been pitching consistently since his return, proving that he can still be competitive in the MLB.
On July 27 (KST), he started the 2023 MLB World Series against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and pitched five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits (two home runs).
In Toronto’s 8-3 victory, Ryu picked up his third win of the season (1-0) in his fifth start since returning.
Ryu’s strengths were once again on display.
Ryu has been performing at the top of his game with his fastball, which sits at around 140 kilometers per hour. In an MLB that is dominated by fastballs that reach 160 kilometers per hour, he stands out.
In 24 innings pitched in five games since his return, Ryu has walked just five batters. He’s walking 1.88 batters per nine innings. He’s also struck out 20 batters, giving him 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings.
With his razor-sharp fastball, Ryu doesn’t give up consecutive hits easily either. Ryu has a .211 batting average this season.
His walks allowed per inning (WHIP) is 1.00. This is very good considering that George Kirby (Seattle Mariners) has the lowest WHIP of any MLB starter this year at 1.03.
Ryu was hit by a pair of home runs on the day, but he was efficient enough that he only needed 60 pitches through the fifth inning.
Once again, his fastball sat at 90.8 miles per hour (146.1 km/h), but he used a mix of changeups (19), curves (13), and cutters (9) to cook the Cleveland lineup.
Ryu’s slowest curve was only 64.6 miles per hour, about 42 miles per hour slower than his fastest fastball.
After giving up a solo homer to Jose Ramirez with the bases loaded in the first inning, Ryu promptly struck out Oscar Gonzalez on a wild pitch. After fouling off three low outside changeups, Ryu induced a swing and a miss with a low curveball on the body.
[Toronto=AP/News] Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto Blue Jays) pitched five innings and gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits (two home runs) to improve to 3-1 on the season after starting the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series against the Cleveland Indians at Rogers Centre on Sunday (Aug. 27) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Aug. 27, 2023.
Ryu struck out two in the second inning, utilizing his cutter, changeup, and curveball.
He struck out leadoff hitter Andres Jimenez with a low, outside curveball on a 2-ball-2-strike count.
Against Gabriel Arias, he induced a swinging strike with an outside changeup on a 2-2 pitch.
The highlight of the game came when Ryu struck out Jimenez with the bases loaded in the top of the fourth inning.
After throwing a 110 mph fastball into the strike zone, Ryu immediately followed with a 137 mph cutter to draw a foul, then a 104 mph curveball. Jimenez swung wildly, completely missing the timing.
Another strength of Ryu’s is that he doesn’t get rattled when he makes a mistake. This season, Ryu has given up 11 runs, but only six earned.
In the second inning against the Cincinnati Reds on April 21, Ryu induced Noelby Marte to fly out to left field with runners on first and third, but an error on the replay allowed two runners to score.
He then allowed TJ Fried to reach on an error, but got the next batter to pop out to end the inning.
In the top of the sixth, Ryu found himself in a bases-loaded jam after back-to-back throwing errors by third baseman Matt Chapman and shortstop Santiago Espinal.
The Toronto bench decided to make a change, and Ryu’s first quality start (six or more innings and three or fewer earned runs) since returning to the organization was denied. The last time Ryu threw a quality start was on May 21 against Cincinnati last year.
However, Ryu walked off the mound with a smile on his face.
Since his return, Ryu has been showing off his veteran side every day. If he continues to perform like this until the end of the season, he could be in line for a free agent offer.