The Toronto Blue Jays have postponed the start of “Korean Monster” Hyun-jin Ryu, who has pitched poorly in two consecutive games.
Toronto will start Yusei Kikuchi against the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2023 Major League Baseball World Series at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on April 30 (ET).
Initially, it was expected that Ryu would take the mound for the 30th game. Given the date of the five-man starting rotation, it was Ryu’s turn to pitch. After taking five days off after his start against the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 18, Ryu was scheduled to start against Tampa Bay on Aug. 24, and with five days of rest, he was likely to get a 30-day start. However, Toronto made a change in the rotation.
Things were looking good for Ryu until he recorded his first quality start (six innings or less) against the Texas Rangers on April 13 after returning from Tommy John surgery. However, his performance against Boston on April 18 was a little different. He threw 4⅔ scoreless innings, but his pitches were quite unsettling, as he allowed six hits and two walks. It’s safe to say that almost every inning was a “crisis.
The bad trend continued against Tampa Bay. Ryu recently pitched 4⅓ innings and five runs (five earned) against Tampa Bay, his worst outing of the season. He gave up four runs in the first inning, including two solo homers, and seemed to be cruising through the second and third innings before giving up a third home run to former NC Dinos Christian Betancourt in the fourth inning.
Ryu’s rescheduled start was likely a result of his recent shaky and inconsistent pitching. Toronto is currently in the thick of the race for the American League wild card, but after losing back-to-back games to the New York Yankees on the verge of clinching a postseason berth, the Jays are no longer guaranteed a wild card spot. Toronto did not provide a reason for the change in Ryu’s starting schedule, but his recent struggles likely played a role.
Yusei Kikuchi will replace Hyun-jin Ryu for Game 30. Kikuchi was initially projected to start on October 1, but with the rotation change, he will take the mound a day earlier. Kikuchi is 10-6 with a 3.82 ERA in 31 starts and 162⅔ innings pitched this year, including reaching double-digit wins for the first time in his five seasons in the majors.
While not overwhelming, his recent outings haven’t been bad. Kikuchi struggled against Texas on April 14, giving up six runs (six earned) in five innings, but bounced back with five innings of one-run ball against the New York Yankees on April 20 to pick up his 10th win, and against Tampa Bay on April 25, he pitched a little better than Ryu with four innings of three-run ball. 메이저사이트
Leave a Reply