After a 426-day absence from Major League Baseball (MLB), Ryu Hyun-jin (36-Toronto Blue Jays) is looking for his first win of the season. If his first opponent (the Baltimore Orioles) was a heavyweight, his second (the Cleveland Cavaliers) is more of a lightweight.
Hyun-jin Ryu will take the mound against Cleveland on April 8 at Progressive Field in Ohio, USA. Looking at Toronto’s starting rotation, Hyun-Jin Ryu will start the first of a four-game series against Cleveland (Aug. 8-11) after Chris Bassett on Aug. 7 against Boston. Cleveland confirmed and announced right-hander Gavin Williams (1-3, 3.38 ERA) as the starter on Aug. 8 before Toronto announced Ryu.
After undergoing Tommy John surgery (elbow ligament reconstruction) last June, Ryu returned to the MLB after a year and two months away. The results have been disappointing. He started a home game against Baltimore on April 2, giving up four runs on nine hits (one home run) in five innings. Since his return, he has struggled against the Orioles, who are second in the MLB and first in the American League (AL) in winning percentage. Cleveland is out-hitting the Orioles in both categories.
Through six days, Cleveland’s record stands at 54-57 (.486 winning percentage), good for second place in the AL Central. They trail the first-place Minnesota Twins (58-54) by 3.5 games, keeping their fall baseball hopes alive, but their winning percentage isn’t great. They’re 21st out of 30 teams in MLB and 11th out of 15 in the AL in runs scored, and they’re particularly lacking in one area. They rank last in the league in both team home runs (83) and slugging/home run ratio (45.57). They’re also 27th in team on-base percentage at .382. It’s a factor that’s not lost on Ryu, who allowed a lot of long balls in Baltimore.
Coincidentally, the Cleveland center field lineup is virtually broken. Josh Bell (.233 with 11 homers and 48 RBIs), one of four hitters with double-digit homers, was traded to the Miami Marlins on April 2. Josh Naylor (.306 with 15 homers and 79 RBIs), the only other third baseman to get regular at-bats, was placed on the 10-day disabled list (IL) with a strained oblique on Friday. Naylor is an opportunistic hitter, ranking third in the AL in RBIs behind Adolis Garcia (Texas Rangers-88) and Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels-82). The offense of third baseman Jose Ramirez and second baseman Andres Jimenez is something to watch out for, but with the loss of the center fielder, the overall firepower has been halved.카지노
Ryu is 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA in three career starts against Cleveland. He took the mound once at Progressive Field in 2021, allowing two runs on four hits in five innings to earn the win.
MLB expert Song Jae-woo, a commentator for MBC SportsPlus, said, “Cleveland sent away three key pieces of its pitching staff before the trade deadline in Aaron Sabean (pitcher), Ahmed Rosario (infielder), and Bell. “The loss of Naylor is good news for Hyun-jin Ryu, who could look like he’s given up for the season. Chinese-American Steven Kwan has been hitting well of late, and Jimenez has been hitting well. But we don’t have anyone with more than 20 home runs. It’s a great opportunity for him to get his first win back.”