Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto Blue Jays) finally faces off as a starting pitcher with three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (39, Texas Rangers).
On the 11th (Korean time), Toronto announced the starting pitcher for the four-game series against Texas at the Rogers Center home starting on the 12th through the club’s game notes. According to this, Ryu Hyun-jin has been confirmed to start on the 13th, the second game of the four-game series.
Ryu Hyun-jin, who has 3 wins, 2 losses, and an ERA of 2.65 in 7 games (34 innings) since returning from Tommy John surgery on the 2nd of last month, is attempting his fourth win of the season. They desperately need a win after failing to add one in the last two games in a row. This four-game series is very important for Toronto as it is Texas, a fall baseball rival. There is a 1.5 game gap between 2nd place Toronto (80 wins, 63 losses) and 4th place Texas (78 wins, 64 losses) in the American League (AL).
Scherzer, 3-time Cy Young Award winner and highest-paid player… Its heyday is past
The Texas team also announced Scherzer as the starting pitcher for the game, and the long-awaited starting matchup between the two pitchers took place.
Scherzer is a top pitcher who won the Cy Young Award a total of three times in the AL in 2013 with the Detroit Tigers and in the National League (NL) with the Washington Nationals in 2016 and 2017. During his time in Washington, he had the opportunity to face off against Ryu Hyun-jin, who played for the LA Dodgers, in the same NL team, but they were separated by a day or two. In the 2019 Division Series, the two pitchers were expected to face each other in Game 3, but after Scherzer made a surprise relief appearance in Game 2, the match was postponed to the starter in Game 4, so the face-off did not happen.
Scherzer, who was born in 1984 but showed his power with a fiery fastball even in his mid-to-late 30s, signed a large three-year contract worth $130 million with the New York Mets in November 2021. His annual salary this year is also the highest in the league at $43.33 million. His performance this season was down from his previous years, with 12 wins, 6 losses, 3.91 earned run average and 172 strikeouts in 26 games (147⅓ innings). He suffered from minor injuries to his shoulder, back, and neck.
The four-seam fastball velocity of 93.7 miles (150.8 km) and the number of revolutions per minute were both the lowest since his debut. He is showing signs of an aging curve, but is holding on with his record. As the Mets withdrew from fall baseball, he was traded to Texas in late July. After moving to Texas, he went a little better than when he was with the Mets, with 3 wins, 2 losses, and an average ERA of 3.63 in 7 games (39 ⅔ innings).
However, his pace has fallen in recent four games with no wins, two losses and an ERA of 5.49. He performed poorly against the Houston Astros on the 7th, his previous appearance, with a loss in 3 innings, allowing 6 hits (3 home runs), 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, and 7 runs. He was shaken with the fewest innings and most runs allowed in the season.
Texas’ batting lineup is more burdensome than Scherzer’s, and former Dodgers teammate Seager is ‘the number one person to watch out for’
At the time of the Scherzer trade, Texas was ranked first in the AL West and was in the mood for a spot in the fall baseball season. However, since August, they lost the top spot in the district with a winning percentage of only .500 with 18 wins and 18 losses. They fell to third place after the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners. All remaining games are important as we are in a critical situation where fall baseball cannot be guaranteed as we are ranked 4th in the AL Wild Card.
Texas, whose mound has suffered cracks due to injuries to key starters such as Jacob deGrom and Nathan Evoldi and an overload of the bullpen, still has strength in its batting lineup. The team OPS fell from 2nd place (.801) in the first half to 9th place (.755) in the second half, but is still above the league average.
Ryu Hyun-jin’s number one person to look out for is Corey Seager, a slugging shortstop he played with during his time with the LA Dodgers. Seager hit two hits, including his 30th home run of the season, against the Oakland Athletics on the 11th. 30 home runs for the second consecutive year, following 33 last year. Following Alex Rodriguez from 2001 to 2003 and Adrian Beltre from 2011 to 2013, he became the third player in history to exceed 30 home runs for two consecutive years after transferring to Texas.
Although he suffered two injury absences due to hamstring and finger injuries, he is active this season with a batting average of .3336 (134 hits in 399 at-bats), 30 home runs, 87 RBIs, an on-base percentage of .398, a slugging percentage of .652, and an OPS of 1.050 in 99 games this season. He ranks first in the AL in batting average, second in slugging percentage and OPS, third in on-base percentage, and fifth in home runs. Both slugging percentage and OPS are second only to Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels).
The two players had a two-stroke match at Rogers Center on April 11 last year. At that time, a fly ball to shortstop in the first inning and a ground ball to first base in the third inning resulted in no hits in two at-bats. It was Ryu Hyun-jin’s victory, but he is a hitter with one-hit ability, so he always has to be on his guard. 소닉카지노
Adolis Garcia, who has the most home runs on the team (34), is out due to a kneecap injury, but Texas has many burdensome hitters, including Seager. Second baseman Marcus Siemien (batting average .281, 24 home runs, 87 RBI, .827 OPS), who were with Toronto in 2021, first baseman Nathaniel Rowe (batting average .279, 15 home runs, 74 RBI, OPS .810), and designated hitter Mitch Garber (batting average .286, 16 runs). The hitting is good, including home runs, 42 RBI, OPS .928) and catcher Jonah Haim (batting average .261, 15 home runs, 77 RBI, OPS .756). Ryu Hyun-jin has no time to worry about Scherzer.