The Toronto Blue Jays’ Ryu Hyun-jin, 36, is expected to make his first appearance against the three-time Cy Young Award-winning legendary ace following his miraculous comeback from Tommy John surgery.
Hyun-jin Ryu, who did not take a loss in his start against the Oakland Athletics on April 7 (ET) after allowing two runs on four hits over five innings, will start at home against the Texas Rangers on April 13 if he follows the normal rotation. It will be his eighth start since returning.
However, he will be facing Texas ace Max Scherzer, who is the favorite to start. Scherzer took the mound on the 2nd against the Houston Astros, so a start on the 13th against Toronto would be the normal order.
Texas’ website lists Jordan Montgomery, Sonny Gray, and Andrew Heaney as the starters for the three-game series against Oakland on Sept. 9-11. For the four-game series against Toronto on Dec. 12-14, the rotation will naturally be Nathan Ivaldi, Scherzer, Montgomery, and Gray.
Toronto hosts the Kansas City Royals for a three-game series from Sept. 9-11, with Yusei Kikuchi slated to start day one, but Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios are expected to pitch the second and third games. For the four-game series against Texas, the rotation will be Chris Bassett, Hyun-jin Ryu, Kikuchi, and Gaussman.
Both Toronto and Texas are coming off of eight days of rest, so Game 13 will be the first time Ryu and Scherzer have pitched on five days’ rest.
Toronto and Texas are locked in a tight race for one of the two American League (AL) wild cards. As of today, Toronto sits in the third wild-card spot with 77 wins and 63 losses, while Texas (76 wins and 63 losses) is half a game back in fourth. The two veteran starters will go head-to-head in a four-game series that could make or break the fate of both teams.
Ryu, who has 11 years of major league experience, and Scherzer, who has 16, have never faced each other as a starter. Ryu had a few chances to face the former Washington Nationals ace when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but rotation changes kept them separated by a day or two. 바카라사이트
In the 2019 Division Series, the two were expected to pitch together in Game 3, but Scherzer pitched one inning as a setup man in Game 2, skipping Game 3 and starting Game 4. Hyun-jin Ryu went to Game 3 in that order and faced Patrick Corbin, allowing two runs on four hits in five innings to earn the win. It was Ryu’s last win in the postseason.