In the end, Ryu’s game mattered.
Ryu’s Toronto has the Houston Astros to thank for that. They helped make the wild-card race a little easier. Now it’s up to Ryu to drive a wedge into the postseason.
Toronto fell to the New York Yankees 6-0 on April 28 at home at Rogers Centre. They gave up a complete game shutout to opposing ace Gerrit Cole. While the team is holding on to second place in the American League wild-card race, the Yankees’ second straight loss has put them in a precarious position. Before this game, they were 1.5 games behind third-place Houston and two games behind the fourth-place Seattle Mariners.
However, they must have breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the results of the next two games. The game was played at Seattle’s home stadium, T-Mobile Park, and Houston won 8-3. The Astros can celebrate by taking the best-of-three series against Seattle with a 2-1 record.
The result keeps Toronto in second place. Third-place Houston moved to within half a game of Toronto and 1.5 games of fourth-place Seattle. Toronto and Seattle have two games in hand. With Toronto and Seattle each having four games to play before the end of the season, a two-game gap is not an easy one to overcome without a head-to-head matchup.
If Seattle had won today, the three-way tie would have been a “super-match”. It would have been 2nd Toronto-3rd Seattle-4th Houston, with 1 game separating 2nd-3rd and 1.5 games separating 2nd-4th, making it even tighter.
But don’t let your guard down. You can win four in a row and lose four in a row in baseball. The most important thing is not to lose back-to-back games. That’s why Ryu’s start on the 30th is so important. Tampa Bay Rays will start with a clean slate. In his last start, he gave up three home runs against Tampa Bay.
Assuming Toronto loses to the Yankees on the 29th, he’ll be tasked with snapping a three-game losing streak. Even if they win against the Yankees, a bad start to the final three-game series in Tampa Bay could leave them in a nail-biter down the stretch.
Of course, it’s also important for Ryu himself. 레모나토토 This is his last start of the season after returning from elbow surgery. With his free agency on the horizon, a poor performance could be the final straw. He needs to win the “beauty of Yujong” so that he can play fall baseball and go to the market with a good image.
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