Looking at the content alone, it was no exaggeration to say that it was the best pitching this season. This is why he faced the risk of giving up runs for 4 consecutive innings. However, despite failing to hunt for the fourth win of the season, ‘Korean Monster’ Ryu Hyun-jin did his part, and the Toronto Blue Jays won three games in a row.

Ryu Hyun-jin started the home match against the Boston Red Sox in the 2023 Major League Baseball League held at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the 18th (Korean time) and recorded 83 pitches, 6 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, and no runs in 4⅔ innings. Although he failed to hunt for his fourth win of the season, his earned run average dropped noticeably from 2.93 to 2.62.

Ryu Hyun-jin, who returned from Tommy John surgery on the 2nd of last month, pitched in 5 games and recorded an ERA of 2.25, recording 3 wins (1 loss). And his good pitching continued into September. Ryu Hyun-jin recorded his first quality start (3 earned runs or less in 6 innings) by allowing 2 runs in 5 innings against the Colorado Rockies and Oakland Athletics, and 3 runs in 6 innings against the Texas Rangers.

Unlike August, September was particularly lacking in victory despite good pitching. In the match against Colorado, the bullpen was unable to preserve the victory, and in the games against Oakland and Texas, they were unable to receive support from the batting line, resulting in two consecutive losses. And on this day, victory was not achieved. However, he produced the best ‘result’ in the game that could have been the most important in securing a wild card ticket.

# Poor batting line. But the defense was strong!

Ryu Hyun-jin started the inning with great defense from the start of the game. In the top of the first inning, Ryu Hyun-jin had an advantageous ball count of 0B-2S in a face-off with lead hitter Sedan Raffaello, and then threw the fourth pitch 88.9 miles (approximately 143.1 km), and Raffaello held out the bat. And this batted ball extended toward right field. The moment he gets hit, he can intuit that it’s not time. Lake rain came out here.

Raphael’s hit hit led to right fielder Cavan Biggio’s ‘super diving catch’ to save the batted ball, creating the first out. If the batted ball had been missed, it could have been a triple for the quick-footed Raphael. Ryu Hyun-jin raised his hand to show his gratitude, and turned all of his subsequent batters around, ending the ‘three-way stoppage’ start.

Toronto seemed to be pushed out of the wild card competition after suffering a ‘shocking sweep’ in a four-game series against the Texas Rangers, who are competing for a wild card. However, with two consecutive wins until the previous day (17th), they rose to third place in the wild card, continuing the possibility of advancing to the postseason. Therefore, it was essential for Ryu Hyun-jin to allow the least number of runs, and Ryu Hyun-jin faced a major crisis with consecutive hits by Rafael Devers and Adam Duvall in the top of the second inning, with no outs on second and third base.

Here again, a defense worthy of admiration was demonstrated. The Toronto players also play the game knowing that reducing the number of goals conceded is the most important thing. In a crisis on second and third base, Ryu Hyun-jin guided Pablo Reyes to a ground ball to shortstop, where Bo Bichette was not the batter runner.

Ryu Hyun-jin responded perfectly to Bisset’s help. Ryu Hyun-jin made the second out by catching Trevor Story with a fly ball to center field with one out and runners on first and second base, and Bobby Dalbec followed with a fly ball to right field, ending the inning without allowing a run.

# Ryu Hyun-jin’s crisis management ability shined in the midst of a run crisis

in each inning . Ryu Hyun-jin’s pitching that day was clearly a little different from usual. Just looking at the process, the pitching was not the best since the game against the Baltimore Orioles, which was his return from Tommy John surgery. But the result was a scoreless score. If you think about it from a different perspective, this was the game where his crisis management skills stood out the most.

Ryu Hyun-jin gave up consecutive hits to Liz McGuire and Raphael in the top of the third inning, facing the risk of reaching second and third base with no outs. Same situation as in episode 2. From here on, he overcame it on his own. Ryu Hyun-jin caught follow-up batter Lev Snyder with a fly ball to left field, but since it was a shallow fly ball, Boston’s runners were unable to move. And he quickly built up the out count by tying up Justin Turner with a grounder to third base.

He also had good judgment in avoiding competition. Ryu Hyun-jin faced Boston’s ‘signature hitter’ Devers on second and third bases with two outs and two outs. Although he was not an automatic 4th pitcher, he made a smart choice to avoid the game by giving up a walk. And Ryu Hyun-jin ended the inning without allowing a run by catching the next Adam Duvall with a fly ball to right field.

Ryu Hyun-jin was in trouble for the third time on the day in the top of the fourth inning due to an error by third baseman Matt Chapman and a hit by Dalbec. However, in this scene, he guided a ground ball to the shortstop against Maguire, and succeeded in escaping the crisis with a double play that led to the shortstop-2nd baseman-1st baseman, maintaining a narrow lead of 1 point.

The most disappointing scene of the day was that they were replaced without being able to finish the 5th episode. However, this shows how important this day’s game was. Hyun-Jin Ryu gave up a hit to Refsnyder and a walk to Devers in the 5th inning, creating a crisis with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd, but here the Toronto bench moved one step faster by putting in Garcia. Garcia, who took over the baton from Ryu Hyun-jin, ended the inning by striking out Duvall, and Ryu Hyun-jin was able to finish the game with no runs despite leaving eight runners.메이저놀이터

# Is the energy of the universe coming to Toronto?

In the case of Major League Baseball, excluding the top team in each district, the three teams with the highest winning percentage in each league can secure a ticket to the postseason through a wild card. Toronto was ranked 2nd in the wild card before the game on the 12th. However, after suffering a shocking sweep in a four-game series against Texas on the 12th to 15th, they quickly fell to 4th place and their chances of advancing to the postseason seemed to disappear.

However, on the 16th and 17th, Toronto went on a winning streak while Texas and Seattle were mired in consecutive losses, and Toronto rose to third place again. Currently, in the American League, where Toronto belongs, the Tampa Bay Rays are ranked overwhelmingly first, and Toronto, Texas, and Seattle are fiercely competing for second and third places. The gap between the three teams is only 0.5 to 1 game.

Toronto experienced the joy of winning all three games against Boston. Toronto took the lead in the early stages of the game. Toronto opened the scoring with a single by Cavan Biggio in the bottom of the second inning with one out and no runners on base, and then Matt Chapman hit his 37th double of the season, giving Toronto a chance to get on second and third base. Here, Kevin Kiermaier traded his out count for a point and succeeded in taking the lead 1-0.

Despite the unstable pitching, Ryu Hyun-jin maintained a narrow lead of 1 run by allowing no runs in each inning, and Toronto widened the gap midway through the game. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Toronto’s Dalton Basho successfully hit an 80.6 mph (approximately 129.7 km) curveball after a battle that went all the way to the 8th pitch with Boston starter Nick Pivetta. Basho’s batted ball was so good that you could tell it was a home run as soon as it left the bat, and the batted ball, which traveled at a speed of 108.3 miles (about 174.3 km), went well over the right wall.

Basho scored an additional point, but it was still an unreassuring gap. Boston pulled the reins late in the game. In the top of the 7th inning, Boston had a chance with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd bases due to a walk by leadoff hitter Refsnyder and a ball hit by Devers, and Reyes hit a timely hit against Toronto’s new pitcher Henesis Cabrera, making the gap 2-1. narrowed down And in the top of the 9th inning, Devers hit a tying solo shot, bringing the game to a close.

But it was Toronto that had the last smile. Toronto opened the scoring in the bottom of the 9th inning with one out and no runner on base when Biggio hit a hit. Here, Chapman hit a big hit against Boston’s Garrett Whitlock. The ball hit the center wall, and Biggio sprinted home, giving Toronto a thrilling walk-off victory for its third consecutive win. And on this day, as Texas was caught by Cleveland again, Toronto jumped to second place in the wild card regardless of the result of Seattle’s game.