Surviving the pitcher’s graveyard.
Ryu Hyun-jin, 36, of the Toronto Blue Jays, will make his sixth start of the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) season against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, next month.
Following a lengthy rehabilitation after undergoing elbow ligament splicing (Tommy John) surgery in June of last year, he returned to the big league mound on April 2 against the Baltimore Orioles. He got off to a bit of a rocky start, but quickly found his groove. He earned his first ML start in 444 days with five scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs on April 14, and then went on a winning streak. As of the 30th, he was 3-1 in five starts, with a 2.25 ERA (6 earned runs in 24 innings) and 20 strikeouts.
This time, he’ll try to make it four in a row against Colorado, his former National League West rival when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers. There is a mountain to climb. That’s the pressure of Coors Field, known as the Pitcher’s Mound. Located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Coors Field reaches an elevation of around 1600 meters. Because of the high altitude, the air is less dense and balls travel farther. It”s one of the most hitter-friendly stadiums in ML.
In practice, he struggled at Coors Field. In six career starts, he has a 1-4 record with a 7.06 ERA (21 earned runs in 26⅔ innings). He has a 0.667 OPS and a 1.074 FIP (on-base plus slugging percentage). These are the highest of his career. He also has eight home runs and a 0.342 BABIP.
It was a bad day for a bad team. Starting shortstop Bo Bissett and third baseman Matt Chapman, who left the game at home against Cleveland on Aug. 28 with soreness, were placed on the disabled list (IL) side by side. Chapman, who suffered a broken middle finger in his right hand, headed to the IL first on the 29th, followed by Bissett on the 10-day DL on the 30th with a strained right thigh muscle.
Bissett is a key table-setter who has put together career-high performances, batting .314 (152-for-484) with 18 homers, 62 RBIs and an OPS of .832 in 114 games. Chapman, who anchors the hot corner, adds to the mix with a .248 (113-for-455) batting average, 15 home runs, 50 RBIs, and a .769 OPS in 125 games. That’s a big loss of power across the offense. Ryu will have his work cut out for him to overcome this distraction.
The good news is that Colorado is having a tough season this year. Through 30 games, they are 49-82, last in the NL in winning percentage. The pitcher scheduled to start is Chris Flexen, who first came to prominence in Korea with Doosan in the KBO. He has struggled to find his footing this year, having been traded and released. It’s clear that he’s a tough enough opponent for Ryu Hyun-jin to use as a sacrificial lamb for his four-game winning streak 카지노사이트.