Hyun-jin Ryu to start on July 7 against Oakland, will share battery with Kirk
Hyun-jin Ryu will try to win his fourth game of the season against the American League’s lowly Oakland Athletics.
Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays will start the 2023 Major League Baseball game against the Oakland Athletics on April 7 at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California, USA. Ryu, who is 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his last five starts with 24 innings pitched and four earned runs allowed, will take the mound against Oakland in a day game after having four days off since his last start against the Colorado Rockies on April 2.
Toronto, which owns a 2-1 record at Coors Field, cut its lead over the third-place Texas Rangers for the American League wild card to half a game with a 6-5 extra-inning victory in Oakland on Friday. They could move into the third wild-card spot as early as a three-game series against Oakland. That means the role of veteran Ryu Hyun-jin, who has been Toronto’s de facto ace since returning from injury, is crucial.
First start on four days’ rest since returning from injury
Ryu gave up a leadoff homer to Eroris Montero in the third inning against Colorado on April 2, but worked around runners on second and third in the third and first and second in the fourth, allowing just two runs on 76 pitches through five innings. Toronto then took a 4-2 lead in the top of the sixth when catcher Danny Jansen hit a two-run homer to center field. But Ryu finished his outing after the fifth inning, greeting his coaching staff and teammates and cheering on his teammates from the bench.
If Toronto was in a position to make a run at the division title, they wouldn’t have rushed Hyun-jin Ryu, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, into a start on four days’ rest. But with the Rays currently in the thick of the American League wild-card race, every game is a postseason game, and they can’t afford to be tentative. That’s why Ryu was forced to pitch on four days’ rest for the first time since returning from injury.
Like most pitchers, Hyun-jin Ryu is nervous about pitching on four days’ rest. However, Ryu’s performance on four days’ rest hasn’t been particularly bad. In fact, in his 59 career starts on four days’ rest, Ryu is 26-14, 3.27. That’s actually better than his record on five days’ rest (34-21, 3.44 in 77 games). Add to that the fact that he threw less than 80 pitches in Colorado, and you can expect a good outing against Oakland.
Oakland, the “Moneyball” team of Billy Beane (now Senior Advisor), is a “small-market miracle” team that made it to Fall Ball 10 times between 2000 and 2020. However, after losing 102 games last season and finishing last in the American League in winning percentage (.370), the A’s are still in last place in the American League this year with a .304 winning percentage (42-96) after five days. The bullpen has been particularly bad, with a team ERA of 5.63, the worst in the majors.
Starting against Sears, a lefty in his second year in the big leagues
Ryu has won two of his three career starts against Oakland. However, he hasn’t pitched well, giving up nine runs in 15 innings with a 5.40 ERA. His last start at Oakland Coliseum came on May 7, 2021, when he allowed four runs on six hits (one home run) and one walk while striking out six in five innings. While Oakland’s offense has waned in recent years, the A’s still need to be wary of Brent Rooker, who has 23 home runs this season.
Oakland’s starter against Ryu, who will be looking for his fourth win of the season, is left-hander JP Sears, who is in his second year in the big leagues. Sears, who made his big league debut last year in a New York Yankees uniform before being dealt to Oakland at the trade deadline, won three games for the Yankees and three for Oakland last year. Sears has been Oakland’s closer again this year, pitching the most innings (146.2) on the team, but he hasn’t had much success, going 3-11, 4.60 in 27 games.토스카지노
Ryu will have to share the battery with young Mexican catcher Alejandro Kirk in Oakland after Jensen, his designated hitter, was placed on the disabled list with a fractured finger. Ryu has only worked with Kirk once since his trade to Toronto, and it didn’t go well, as he gave up five runs in four innings. Ryu will have to prove that he’s comfortable with the catcher in Oakland, where he’ll likely be paired with Kirk.