adminToronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin makes his 7th appearance on the mound of the season. The team they will face on this day is the Oakland Athletics, who are in last place in the American League West Division with 42 wins and 97 losses. Although they are the lowest-ranked team, they are also a major league team, so they absolutely cannot let down their guard.
Toronto Blue Jays (Ryu Hyun-jin) vs. Oakland Athletics (JP Sears), Oakland Coliseum, Oakland
September 7, 4:37 a.m. (September 6, 12:37 p.m. local time)
Local broadcast: Sportsnet (Toronto), NBC Sports California (Oakland)
Ryu Hyun-jin allowed 4 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 2 runs in 5 innings in an away game against the Colorado Rockies held at Coors Field on the 2nd (Korean time). He threw a total of 76 pitches. He used all the weapons he had, from a four-seam fastball with a top velocity of 90.1 mph to a slow curve of 62.4 mph, to survive at Coors Field, known as the ‘graveyard of pitchers.’ He allowed 10 whiffs, 14 fouls, and 11 errors and 4 hits. Of the 15 batted balls, 7, or nearly half, were strong hits with an exit speed of over 95 mph.
Right-handed hitters had a hard time with Coors Field’s high elevation, with changeups that should have flowed outside coming inside. Rumor has it that he had a hard time with the ball not going where he wanted from the bullpen warm-up. In a place where ‘all you have to do is be better than the opposing pitcher’, he pitched better than the opposing pitcher and that’s how he survived.
After allowing a home run in the 3rd inning, he was in danger with one out and 2nd and 3rd bases on base, but it was important that he got through without allowing any additional runs. In the 4th inning, he allowed a walk due to an unclear ball decision and was driven to 1st and 2nd bases with 1 out, but this time he blocked it without allowing a run. Although he was not the winning pitcher, he brought the atmosphere and contributed to the team winning 13-9.
Regarding the situation in the 3rd inning with 1 out and 2nd and 3rd bases, he said, “I was planning on providing a sacrifice fly as much as possible. He threw with the intention of inducing a strikeout or a ground ball. “When it hit, he was able to overcome the crisis,” he said, adding that he threw with the will not to allow a run.
This time, the mound was moved from the Rocky Mountains to California, and he faced a new challenge. He is scheduled to pitch for the first time this season after a four-day break, and it will also be a daytime game. Attention is being paid to how he will react to the four-day break in his first season since returning from Tommy John surgery. This season, the number of pitches is being managed at around 70 to 86 pitches.
Working with a new catcher is also an issue that needs to be resolved. Danny Jansen, who had been in charge of pitching for him this season, left the team due to a fractured finger. He will likely be joined by new backup catcher Tyler Heinemann. It’s not entirely unfamiliar territory. Although I have never played a game with Heinemann, I have experience working with him through bullpen pitching. Ryu Hyun-jin also seemed not to be very conscious of the catcher changing.
From 38.4% to 62.9%
Toronto was 3.5 games behind third place in last week’s wild card race. At the time, ‘Fangraphs.com’ predicted Toronto’s probability of advancing to the postseason to be 38.4%. The situation was reversed within a week. The Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, and Oakland secured three consecutive winning series, regaining third place in the wild card. Fangraphs.com corrected their probability of advancing to the postseason to 62.9%. The situation turned around in just a week.
Toronto coach John Schneider said, “Baseball is a really crazy sport. “The ups and downs are going on like crazy,” he said. “There are still many games left.” It is impossible to foresee the future ahead of time. “Because the situation changes every day,” he said, adding that the current location is meaningless. Still, “I’m really proud of the players working together. We are responding well to the all-consuming approach. “I will be really happy if I can maintain my current position even after this season ends,” he encouraged the players.
Chris Bassett, who started the day before and pitched well in 8 innings, allowing 1 run, said, “We have a lot of experienced players on our team. Brandon Belt and George Springer have championship experience, and Chappie (Matt Chapman) and I also have postseason experience. I know very well what to do and how to do it. “We are a mature group, and we will only focus on our own work,” he said, raising his voice that he would focus only on his own game regardless of the current ranking.
Currently, Toronto is not at normal strength. Bo Bisset and Chapman were out due to injury, and Belt also missed the last two games due to abdominal pain. Their vacancies are being filled by young players such as Davis Schneider, Ernie Clement, and Spencer Horwitz. It remains to be seen whether they can make a splash in today’s game as well.
Ryu Hyun-jin has appeared three times against Oakland and has 2 wins, no losses, and an ERA of 5.40. He pitched 15 innings and he allowed 9 runs. Since moving to Toronto, he has pitched twice. On the road on May 7, 2021, he pitched 5 innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, and 4 runs. Although he gave up a lot of runs, he became the winning pitcher with batting support. In the last home game on April 17, 2022, he performed poorly, allowing 6 hits, 1 home run, 1 strikeout, and 5 runs in 4 innings. He was placed on the injured list after the game with a left forearm injury. At that time, he had to take a gap year of about a month.
Compared to then, Auckland has seen significant changes in its squad. There are only four players that Ryu Hyun-jin has experience facing. Among them, the player he faced the most was Aledmiss Diaz, who had 6 at-bats. As in previous games, the fact that it is an ‘unfamiliar matchup’ will work to Ryu Hyun-jin’s advantage.토토사이트
Lawrence Butler, who has the best hitting ability with 5 hits, 3 home runs, and 6 RBIs in 14 at-bats, is on funeral leave and cannot play today. Instead, there is Esteuri Ruiz, who recorded 6 hits, 1 home run, and 3 RBIs in 15 at-bats in 6 games. He is a player with quick feet and can get tired if allowed to get on base. Ryan Noda, who has 7 hits in 21 at-bats in 6 games, 2 home runs and 5 RBIs, and Jack Gerloff (8 hits in 26 at-bats in 6 games), who won Rookie of the Month last month, are also subject to caution.
In particular, caution is required as Noda, despite being a left-handed hitter, has an OPS of 0.978 with 5 home runs and 13 RBIs against left-handers. Kemp is also a left-handed hitter, but his batting average against left-handers is 0.319. Luker has 7 home runs against lefties. Kevin Smith is also doing well against lefties with an OPS of 0.901, so be careful.
For Oakland left-handed starting pitcher JP Sears (27), this season is his first year as a full-time starter in the big league. He pitched 146 2/3 innings in 27 games, going 3-11 with a 4.60 ERA, 1.220 WHIP, 1.9 home runs per 9 innings, 2.4 walks, and 8.5 strikeouts. He has 11 losses, but his pitching is better than this. He has a walk rate of 6.3%, which ranks in the 81st percentile in the league, and his drawn ball induction rate of 30.6% ranks in the 70th percentile. Average exit velocity (89 mph, 51%), swing-and-miss rate (25%, 42% percentile), and strikeout rate (22.2%, 41% percentile) are all at league average levels. It is a flaw that the true hit rate (12.1%) is rather high (3% percentile) and the ground ball induction rate is only 30.1%, which is in the bottom 4% of the league. He uses a four-seam fastball with an average speed of 93 mph (49.8%), a sweeper at 81 mph (23.6%), a changeup at 83.9 mph (14%), and a slider at 82.1 mph (12.75). Although the slider has the smallest proportion, it is considered the most powerful pitch with a hitting percentage of 0.182.
He began his professional career by being drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 11th round of the 2017 draft. Afterwards, he went to the New York Yankees through two trades and joined the current team. Ahead of the 2022 trade deadline, the Athletics acquired Luis Medina and Ken Waldychuk from the Yankees in exchange for two immediate power players, Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino.