“Shocking 101km curve” Ryu Hyun-jin’s harness made the batter freeze, but there are still tasks to solve

 Toronto Blue Jays Ryu Hyun-jin (36) achieved his first quality start of the season with a slow curve, but also faced several challenges.

Ryu Hyun-jin started the game against the Texas Rangers held at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the 13th (Korean time) and recorded a loss, allowing 5 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, and 3 runs in 6 innings. Ryu Hyun-jin did his job, but the batting line failed to respond, and Toronto lost 3-6. 

Ryu Hyun-jin, who underwent Tommy John surgery (elbow ligament fusion surgery) 토토사이트in June of last year, returned to the major league after about 13 months and is showing good health. His season performance is 8 games (39⅓ innings), 3 wins, 2 losses, and an ERA of 2.75. 

Ryu Hyun-jin, who recorded 82 pitches, used four seamers (25 pitches), changeup (18 pitches), cutter (18 pitches), curve (16 pitches), and sinker (5 pitches). The highest four-seam speed was 90.6 miles per hour (145.8 km), and the lowest curve speed was 62.5 miles per hour (100.6 km). The difference in velocity between the two pitches reached a maximum of 45.2km. 

Ryu Hyun-jin masterfully took advantage of the velocity difference between the four-seam and the curve, completely taking away the timing of the Texas batters. In particular, the strikeout he got against Nathaniel Rowe in the top of the 4th inning with one out and runners on first base was impressive. Ryu Hyun-jin, who caught a strike with a cutter at 84.4 miles (135.8 km) on the first pitch, caused a missed swing with a high 87.3 mile (140.5 km) four-seam, quickly forcing Low to two strikes. Rowe made a foul on an 87.6 mile (141.0 km) four-seamer on the third pitch, but when the final 62.6 mile (100.7 km) curve entered the course, he got stuck and struck out. Rowe returned to the dugout with a vain expression on his face. 

American media outlet Sports Illustrated said, “Ryu Hyun-jin dropped a shocking 63 mph and struck out Rowe. The expression on Row’s face as he returned to the dugout, unable to come to his senses due to the extreme difference in restraint displayed by Ryu Hyun-jin, was a scene not easily seen. Ryu Hyun-jin threw the ball as if he was doing batting practice or a soft toss, and the ball seemed to be high out of the strike zone, but in the end, it came perfectly into the course high in the strike zone. “Rowe had no choice but to freeze.” 

The Toronto broadcaster who broadcasted the game that day also said, “Ryu Hyun-jin threw the fastest four-seam of the season and the slowest curve of his career. “What we saw tonight was no different from an eye test,” he said, admiring Ryu Hyun-jin’s pitching that freely handles fast and slow balls. 

However, Ryu Hyun-jin also had concerns. The cutter, which had been used as an important pitch along with the changeup for a long time, was targeted. Ryu Hyun-jin threw a first-pitch cutter to leadoff hitter Corey Seager in the fourth inning and got a hit, and then threw a first-pitch cutter to Robbie Grossman and allowed a two-run home run. 

Ryu Hyun-jin, who was attacked by the cutter, changed his ball combination to focus on the curve. However, the Texas batters, who had begun to adjust their timing to the slow curve, were waiting for Ryu Hyun-jin’s slow curve, and in the end, Ryu Hyun-jin’s curve, which did not allow a single hit until the 5th inning, ended up allowing two hits in the 6th inning alone. 

Ryu Hyun-jin pitched very efficiently, making good use of the velocity difference between his four-seam and curve. However, he only threw a curveball in the 6th inning and got two hits, which presented the challenge that it would be difficult to last a long inning with only a slow curveball. 

Ryu Hyun-jin, who pitched 6 innings for the first time since returning from injury, is likely to appear in Boston’s home game on the 18th. Attention is being paid to what solution Ryu Hyun-jin will come up with in his next appearance.