Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto Blue Jays), who announced his revival, will challenge for four consecutive wins in the "Pitchers' Tomb."
Ryu Hyun-jin will start against the Colorado Rockies in the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB), which starts at Coors Field in Denver at 9:40 a.m. on the 2nd. This is his first appearance at Coors Field since transferring to Toronto.
For Toronto, which is in fourth place behind second-place Houston and third-place Texas in the AL wild-card race, each game is a very important time. However, key third baseman Matt Chapman and key shortstop Boby Bissett left side by side due to injuries, and dependence and expectations for Ryu Hyun-jin are bound to be high.
Since his return, Ryu Hyun-jin has been playing the role of ace. He pitched in five games (24 innings) in August and won three games. His ERA is 2.25, the lowest among Toronto starters.
Ryu Hyun-jin's role is more important as the game is held at Coors Field, a representative batter-friendly stadium in MLB. 바카라
Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, located in Denver, Colorado, at an altitude of 1610 meters, is notorious as a tomb for pitchers. Due to the high altitude above sea level, the air density is low and the resistance is low, so even the same ball extends farther than other stadiums.
Coors Field is not an unfamiliar place for Ryu Hyun-jin, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West for a long time. Like other pitchers, Ryu struggled here. He has one win, four losses and a 7.09 ERA in six games (26.2 innings) at Coors Field. He also had eight home runs.
In his first appearance at Coors Field in the 2019 season (14 wins, 5 losses, 2.32 ERA), which he was aiming for the Cy Young Award, he was not good with seven runs in four innings.He pitched six scoreless innings in his second appearance, but failed to bring down his soaring ERA due to seven runs in his first appearance.
Ryu Hyun-jin will stand at Coors Field again, with Toronto in fierce competition to win a postseason ticket.
The key to survival is, of course, self-control. The average fastball speed is less than 90 miles (about 144.8 kilometers), but the power of the main weapon change-up remains, and he overwhelms opponents with elaborate control and number fights. The slow curve in the early 100km range, which was taken out after his return, deprived batters of timing and rarely allowed strong hits.
Ryu Hyun-jin's average curve ball speed this season is the lowest at 70 miles per hour, but his power is terrifying. Ryu, who returned with a slower curve, left batters frustrated with a 104km curve. All of this is possible only if it is accompanied by control. If the control is shaken even a little, the risk of home runs is very high.
Of the 19 hits he recorded since his return, eight had extra-base hits with more than a double, and three of them were homers. If the fastball's speed is higher than it is now, Ryu Hyun-jin's slower curve could shine more, but it is too much to expect an increase in speed from a veteran in his late 30s who returned from elbow surgery. After all, the key to survival is self-control.
Meanwhile, right-hander Chris Flexen (29) will face off against Ryu Hyun-jin.
Flexen, who left the Doosan Bears in the 2020 KBO League with 8 wins, 4 losses and a 3.01 ERA, moved to the Seattle Mariners and won 14 games. However, he was released after collapsing with an ERA of 7 points this year, and Colorado is also not good with one win and two losses and a 5.87 ERA in six games.