How did Ryu Hyun-jin manage to pitch successfully on the difficult road to his comeback?
!Korean Monster’ Ryu Hyun-jin’s perfect appearance. As well as his personal winning streak, he erased all concerns after the surgery. Ryu Hyun-jin started in the 2023 Major League Cleveland Guardians home game held at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the 27th (Korean time) and recorded 4 hits (2 homers) and 5 strikeouts and 3 runs (2 earned) in 5 innings. Thanks to the Toronto Blue Jays’ 8-3 win, he won his third win of the season.
In particular, after winning the first win of the season against the Chicago Cubs on the 14th (5 innings, 2 runs allowed), on the 21st against the Cincinnati Reds (5 innings, 2 runs free), and until the game that day, 3 individual wins in a row.
How was Ryu Hyun-jin’s pitching?
Ryu Hyun-jin’s start on this day was not good. After one out in the first inning, he threw a 141 km/h fastball to Cleveland Ramirez, but allowed a solo home run that went over the left fence.
Ryu Hyun-jin left an earned run in 4 games after allowing a home run to Gunner Henderson in the 6th inning against Baltimore on August 2, before returning from surgery (5 innings, 9 hits, 4 runs). With this run, Ryu Hyun-jin’s streak of non-accusation ended with 14 innings.
In the second inning, he struck out Andres Jimenez, the first batter, on a swing. Following this, Gabriel Arias also struck out on a miss, and finished the inning with a triple strike.
Ryu Hyun-jin’s ability to handle beomta continued. In the third inning, he was hit by a double by leadoff batter Cam Gallagher, but hit subsequent batters in a row to prevent an extra run. He also blocked the 4th inning with a three-way offense. In the fifth, after one out, he surrendered a left-handed solo to Tyler Freeman, but gave up no extra runs.
Ryu Hyun-jin blocked up to 5 innings with 60 fewer pitches. He followed this up by getting on the mound in the 6th inning as well. However, it was regrettable here because of the mistakes of the Toronto infielders. After giving up a right-handed hit to first batter Cole Calhoun in the 6th inning, Jose Ramirez had to pay a follow-up to induce a ground ball, but Toronto third baseman Matt Chapman made a catch error. In the following 1st and 2nd bases, shortstop Santiago Espinal missed Oscar Gonzalez’s ground ball, and the bases were loaded safely.
At this time, Ryu Hyun-jin passed the mound to bullpen pitcher Garcia and went down the mound. However, Garcia allowed Ramon Loreano to push away with a hit ball, and Cal Hoon, who was responsible for Ryu Hyun-jin, scored, increasing the number of runs to three. Afterwards, there was no problem until Ryu Hyun-jin reached victory, as Garcia handled the subsequent hitters.
On this day, Ryu Hyun-jin threw a total of 70 pitches. He had the most fastballs (29), followed by a changeup (19), curveball (13), and cut fastball (9). His highest fastball velocity reached 90.8 miles (about 146 km).
Ryu Hyun-jin stood up at the age of 36 and after two surgeries
Hyun-jin Ryu underwent a total of two surgeries after advancing to the major leagues. In May 2015, he underwent surgery to repair his left shoulder joint and labrum. Although it was a shoulder surgery with a relatively low probability of rehabilitation success, he successfully pitched. Then, in June of last year, she underwent Tommy John surgery (elbow ligament splicing operation).
Tommy John surgery is known to have a higher chance of returning success than shoulder surgery. However, Ryu Hyun-jin underwent Tommy John surgery once in April 2004, when he was a sophomore at Dongsan High School. Although it is the same operation, according to the case, the second operation had a lower success rate than the first operation. Considering the age of 36-year-old Ryu Hyun-jin, the speed of recovery was also not fast. As a result, local media and other baseball experts expressed negative views about Ryu Hyun-jin’s return.
Even in this situation, Ryu Hyun-jin stood up again without fail. Ryu Hyun-jin’s hit rate this season is 0.211 and on-base per inning (WHIP) is 1.00, and he is performing as well as in his prime.
Ryu Hyun-jin’s successful pitching, the secret…
Ryu Hyun-jin’s style itself has changed. He focused on breaking balls instead of fast balls, and showed slower and more accurate pitches. His new weapon was the ‘Arirang Curve’.
Ryu Hyun-jin’s curve average velocity this season is 113 km per hour, which is at the bottom of the MLB (342nd place). The reason why the ball does not rub against the batter’s bat even at slow speed is because Ryu Hyun-jin’s curve shows a large drop. Ryu Hyun-jin’s curve average speed in this game, which won three wins, was 109 km, which was slower than the season average. In the end, he gave up restraint, but making the angle of the breaking ball larger led to Ryu Hyun-jin’s success.
In particular, MLB.com admired Ryu Hyun-jin’s 104km curve against Andres Jimenez after 2 outs in the 4th inning and struck out without swinging, saying, “Look at this beautiful slow curve.”
Korean Monster ‘Keep going’
MLB.com’s reporter Keegan Matisen evaluated Ryu Hyun-jin as “overall, he displayed sharp and effective pitching.” Following this, the Toronto Line, a Toronto local media, also praised him, saying, “I confused opponent hitters with a good breaking ball.”
Ryu Hyun-jin’s personal satisfaction was also good. “Getting fit has been a good thing. He can’t throw a fast ball, but he’s got his health back,” he said.
He added, “The most important thing to me now is the control. Aside from the curveball, good control of all pitches made it possible for me to win.”
Toronto head coach John Schneider also praised Ryu Hyun-jin for his efficient and sensuous pitching, saying, “He is an excellent veteran left-handed pitcher. Accurate and clean pitching, and his ability to escape from a crisis on his own are great.”온라인바카라
Meanwhile, looking at Toronto’s starting rotation schedule, Ryu Hyun-jin’s next pitching schedule is expected to start in an away game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Colorado on September 2nd. Attention is focusing on whether Ryu Hyun-jin will be able to achieve his 4th consecutive win.