Hyun-jin Ryu, 36, was still the hope of the Toronto Blue Jays.온라인카지노 His 104-kilometer-per-hour curveball was proof.
“Hyun-jin Ryu has accomplished a unique feat in the major leagues,” the American media outlet The Daily Hive wrote on Aug. 28 (KST), noting his latest performance.
On the 27th, Ryu started the 2023 Major League Baseball (ML) home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and pitched five innings of four-hit ball, striking out five and giving up three runs (two earned) to earn his third win of the season.
It was a pitch that drew rave reviews. While his fastball only reached 90.8 miles per hour (146.1 kilometers per hour), he was able to average 69.8 miles per hour (112.3 kilometers per hour) with his off-speed curveball, which he used to get hitters to swing and miss. If not for back-to-back errors by the infielders in the sixth inning, it would have been his first quality start of the season (six or more innings and three or fewer earned runs).
The performance of “vintage Ryu,” who came back from elbow ligament splicing surgery (Tommy John surgery) at a young age, has encouraged fans in the United States and Canada. The Daily Hive wrote, “Ryu’s career in Toronto hasn’t always gone according to plan. After receiving the Tommy John surgery last year, he hasn’t always had the opportunity to showcase the best version of himself, playing just 11 games over the past two seasons. In fact, in the four years since signing with Toronto in December 2019, he’s made just 15 starts at home in the Rogers Centre.”
“However, Ryu showed his best stuff (curveball) against Andres Jimenez in Cleveland, striking him out for the first out.”
It happened in the top of the fourth inning, with Toronto leading 3-1, when Ryu threw a 68.1-mile-per-hour (109.6 kilometers per hour) curveball as a first-pitch offering that hit the top of the strike zone and drew a strike call. He induced a foul ball with an outside cutter and drew Jimenez’s bat with a 64.6-mph (104-kilometer) curveball in a similar location.
Ryu Hyun-jin./AFPBBNews=News1
On the pitch, Major League Pitching analyst Rob Friedman wrote, “That’s a really nice 64.6 mph curveball from Ryu Hyun-jin. It’s the slowest curveball a starting pitcher has induced a false start this season,” and “It’s always fun to see the velocity on the scoreboard. Most pitchers look at how fast they’re throwing, but Ryu makes you look at how slow they’re throwing.”
The Daily Hive featured Friedman’s reaction, saying, “Friedman’s story is proof that Hyun-jin Ryu has excelled as a Finesse-type pitcher during his long major league career. It’s a good sign for Toronto that Ryu is still at the top of his game.”
It was a Toronto career that started with an ace. Ryu signed a four-year, $80 million contract, the largest free agent contract for a pitcher in franchise history at the time, and headed to Canada. His signing was seen as a sign of a new beginning for the rebuilding Toronto organization, and it was followed by a series of other big contracts, including Jose Berrios (seven years, $131 million) and Kevin Gausman (five years, $110 million).
In 2020, Ryu was the undisputed ace of Toronto’s rotation. In his first year, he went 12-5 with a 2.69 ERA in a 60-game shortened season that left him without a home stadium, leading Toronto to its first postseason appearance in four years. For his efforts, he finished third in the American League Cy Young Award.
In 2021, he struggled again with a 4.37 ERA, but still went 14-10, the most wins on the team, and last year he went 2-2 with a 5.67 ERA in six starts while battling elbow pain. Add to that a second Tommy John surgery, and he was projected as a fifth or sixth starter by MLB.com and others at the start of the season. As it was, there was some skepticism that he might finish the final year of his contract with Toronto in the bullpen.
However, Ryu has once again defied the odds and stepped into the starting rotation, going 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA in five starts and striking out 20 in 24 innings, giving Toronto new hope. Ryu’s successful return has allowed Toronto to move the struggling Alex Manoa, 25, off the first team roster and plan for next year.
According to MLB.com on Aug. 28, Toronto designated Manoa for assignment, but still kept him with the first team, rather than with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. MLB.com reports, “Atkins said Manoa is not currently Toronto’s sixth starter. That stems from the results of the two weeks he was out of the rotation,” Atkins said.
Ryu Hyun-jin./AFPBBNews=news1
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