‘Korean Monster’ Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto Blue Jays) will try again for his first win after returning from injury.

Ryu Hyun-jin will start in the 2023 American Professional Baseball Major League (MLB) Cleveland Guardians visit game held at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, USA at 8:10 am (Korean time) on the 8th.메이저놀이터

Ryu Hyun-jin is aiming for victory after 438 days since the Los Angeles Angels match on May 27 last year.

He also challenges MLB personal career 900 strikeouts with only one left.

Ryu Hyun-jin played a somewhat disappointing game against the Baltimore Orioles on the 2nd, the first game after his return.

He gave up 9 hits and 1 walk, including 1 home run, in 5 innings, giving up 4 runs, becoming the losing pitcher.

His fastball velocity (maximum 146.5 km, average 143 km) did not meet expectations, and his breaking ball control was also shaken.

However, Ryu Hyun-jin was not disappointed. This is because the game was a return match 14 months after the left elbow ligament surgery, and considering that the opponent team was the Baltimore Orioles, the American League (AL) winning team, it was not such a bad result.

After his comeback, he expressed confidence, saying, “I think his speed will go up by 1-2 miles (about 1.60-3.22 km). I will definitely win next time.”

First of all, the prospects for a first win are bright. Matchups aren’t bad. Cleveland, where Ryu Hyun-jin will meet, is a team that is easier to deal with than Baltimore.

Cleveland is 11th out of 15 AL teams with a 54-58 win rate of 0.482 through the 7th.

The weight of the other line is reduced. Cleveland is 7th in the AL with a team batting average of 0.251 this season, and the team’s home runs are the lowest with 84.

Cleveland is the only team in the 15 AL teams to hit fewer than 100 home runs. The team’s slugging percentage is 0.382, which is 13th.

In particular, the team’s offensive power has been gloomy recently. Since the match against the Chicago White Sox on the 29th of last month, he scored less than 5 points in 9 consecutive games.

The average score per game during this period is only 2.56 points.

The reason for the collapse of Cleveland’s batting line is that key hitters left one after another due to trades and injuries.

Leading hitter Jose Ramirez, who ranks first in OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) in the team (0.861), had a brawl exchanging punches with infielder Tim Anderson of the opposing team against the White Sox on the 6th, and punishment is inevitable.

Ramirez started as the designated hitter number 3 against the White Sox on the 7th because the MLB secretariat’s disciplinary decision did not fall.

First baseman Josh Naylor, who was second on the team in OPS (0.846), was out due to injury, and DH Josh Bell (0.701), who was running fourth on the team, moved to the Miami Marlins earlier this month.

6th (0.675) Ahmed Rosario was traded for Noah Syndergaard last month to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cleveland’s right-hander Gavin Williams, who will start this day, is a rookie who debuted in the big leagues this season.

He posted an average ERA of 3.38 with 1 win and 3 losses in 8 games in the 2023 season.

Recently, his ability to digest innings has deteriorated enough to be responsible for less than 5 innings in 4 consecutive games.

On the other hand, Toronto’s team atmosphere is not bad, with a 13-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on the 7th.

Toronto recently won three games in a row, averaging 8.33 points per game during this period.

Toronto is 63-50, 6th overall win rate in the AL and 3rd in the Eastern Division.

Although it was 7.5 games away from Baltimore, which is ranked first in the district, the possibility of fall baseball is bright as it is running 3rd in the AL Wild Card rankings, which is the last line to advance to the postseason.

Toronto is ahead of the wild card fourth place Seattle Mariners by only 2.5 games, so it needs to accumulate as many wins as possible in four consecutive matches against Cleveland, which is considered to be underdog.