2 S. Korean pitchers set to take mound on same day in MLB

유지호 / 2021-06-03 13:34:56

MLB-pitchers

▲ In this Getty Images photo, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Cleveland Indians in the bottom of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Progressive Field in Cleveland on May 28, 2021. (Yonhap)

▲ In this Getty Images photo, Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the bottom of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Chase Field in Arizona on May 30, 2021. (Yonhap)

MLB-pitchers

2 S. Korean pitchers set to take mound on same day in MLB

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap) -- Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays and Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals will try to win a major league game on the same day for the second time in their careers.

Ryu has been announced as the Blue Jays' starter against the Houston Astros at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, at 7:07 p.m. Friday (local time), or 8:07 a.m. Saturday (South Korea time). Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo unveiled his rotation for the three-game set against the Astros before hosting the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

The Cardinals announced earlier this week that Kim will toe the rubber against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium in St. Louis at 7:15 p.m. Friday (local time), or 9:15 a.m. Saturday (South Korea time).

Ryu came over from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in late 2012, and Kim made that leap seven years later. Ryu was the Opening Day starter for the Blue Jays on July 24 last year, and Kim made his lone relief appearance of the season that day as the closer.

Kim soon moved into the rotation, and the two former KBO MVPs both made regular season starts on Aug. 17, Aug. 22, Sept. 19 and Sept. 24.

They both won on Sept. 24, becoming the first pair of Korean pitchers to win on the same day in the majors since 2005.

They also made postseason starts on Sept. 30 in their respective Wild Card Series, with Ryu suffering a loss and Kim taking a no-decision.

Ryu is putting together another strong campaign. He is 5-2 with a 2.62 ERA, fourth-best in the American League, after 10 starts, with 58 strikeouts and eight walks in 58 1/3 innings.

Ryu was a perfect 4-0 with a 2.64 ERA in May, pitching into the seventh inning in three of his five starts that month.

At the start of this month, the Blue Jays moved into Sahlen Field, their Triple-A park, as their temporary home, after spending the first two months at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida. With the Canada-U.S. border closed for non-essential travel during the coronavirus pandemic, the Blue Jays have not been able to play at Rogers Centre in Toronto since the start of last season.

The Jays played all of their home games at Sahlen Field in 2020, and Ryu was 2-0 with a 2.10 ERA in five starts there.

Kim is 1-3 with a 3.65 ERA and has dropped his past three decisions. Kim has yet to pitch past the sixth inning this year and has had control problems.

Kim walked 11 batters in 23 1/3 innings in May, after allowing just one free pass in 13 2/3 innings in April.

Kim's lone win of the season came against the Reds on April 23, when he threw 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball at home while striking out eight.

A third South Korean left-hander in the majors, Yang Hyeon-jong of the Texas Rangers, would also have been in line to start on the weekend, but he has been removed from the rotation after three consecutive losses in spot appearances.

For their three-game weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Rangers will send out Kyle Gibson, Kolby Allard and Dane Dunning.

Gibson is coming off the injured list and Allard is taking Yang's spot. Yang had been filling in for injured Kohei Arihara but gave up 10 earned runs in 11 2/3 innings across his past three starts. He allowed 13 hits and walked eight batters in that span.

Yang, who opened the season in the bullpen, is 0-3 with a 5.20 ERA in seven games overall.

(END)