Toronto Blue Jays Ryu Hyun-jin sacrifices the Cincinnati Reds to challenge for a second win of the season. The opponent for the starting match is Hunter Green, a special rookie. Ryu Hyun-jin will start at 2:40 am on the 21st (Korean time) in the 2023 Major League Baseball game against Cincinnati at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, USA. Green is a monster prospect who caught the attention of the entire major leagues even before his debut. He easily threw 100 miles per hour, so he was called a flame baller, not a fire baller.
However, like most fastball pitchers, Green also has a weakness that his command is inconsistent. Green made his debut last year and played in 24 games. He went 5-13 with a 4.44 earned run average. Since Cincinnati was not in a postseason challenge, 안전놀이터 Green was consistently given opportunities regardless of the outcome. Beating days were common for him, but he would put up a quality start-plus fight every 4 or 5 games. He has gotten slightly better this year. He is 2-4 with a 3.93 earned run average in 14 games. He has 8 games where he was substituted before the 6th inning, but there are also 4 games where he scored 6 or more innings and gave up 2 runs or less. He is a very difficult pitcher to target when he throws well.
Ryu Hyun-jin underwent Tommy John surgery (elbow ligament joint surgery) in June 2022 and returned after a year and two months. After returning, he digested the rotation normally and recorded an average ERA of 2.57 with 1 win and 1 loss in 14 innings in 3 games. It is encouraging that his pitching content is improving with each game played. Ryu Hyun-jin played in 8 games against Cincinnati in his career. He boasts a high winning percentage of 5-2 and an earned run average of 3.23. However, both defeats were on the away side. At Great American Ballpark, the average ERA of 4 games, 2 wins, 2 losses, is 3.52, which slightly increases.
In the current Cincinnati lineup, except for Joey Votto, virtually no hitter is familiar with Ryu Hyun-jin. It is a three-game series in which both Toronto and Cincinnati must risk life and death. Toronto is on the verge of advancing to the American League Wild Card (3rd place), but is chased by the Seattle Mariners by only 0.5 games. Cincinnati is in fourth place behind the Chicago Cubs, who are third in the National League wild card, and behind in odds without a win.