After 426 days on the big league mound, Ryu Hyun-jin (36-Toronto Blue Jays) pitched well in his comeback. Although he took the loss, he showed that he’s healthy and ready to go.

Hyun-jin Ryu started against the Baltimore Orioles in the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Tuesday (Feb. 2), giving up four runs on five hits and nine pitches with one walk and three strikeouts. He threw 80 pitches.

Ryu was removed from the game in the top of the sixth inning with Toronto trailing 3-4 and suffered his first loss of the season as the team went on to lose by a final score of 3-13. His ERA is 7.20.

Ryu took the mound after a lengthy rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery to repair ligament splicing in his elbow following a June 2 game against the Chicago White Sox last year. He had gone 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA in his previous four minor league appearances, so there were high hopes for his comeback, but the results were somewhat disappointing.

Ryu took the mound looking a little nervous and got off to a rough start, giving up a run in the first inning.

He gave up back-to-back singles to leadoff hitters Adley Rutchman and Ryan Mountcastle, and then gave up another run on Gunner Henderson’s infield single with runners on first and third.

In the second, he gave up a leadoff double to Ramon Urias and then a sacrifice bunt to Ryan McKenna to put runners on first and second. He then got Jorge Mateo to ground out to third, but gave up a single to Rushman to extend the lead.

In the third inning, things settled down. He gave up a leadoff single to Anthony Santander, but got Austin Hayes to fly out and struck out Henderson.

In the fourth, with the score tied 3-3, Jordan Westberg singled, but Urias, McKenna, and Mateo were retired in order.

In the fifth, he had runners on first and second with one out, but Hayes again induced a double play. After throwing 75 pitches through five innings, Ryu took the mound in the sixth.

However, his first pitch, a changeup to Henderson, was hit to center field for a 106-meter solo home run. This was the most frustrating part of the game.

The bullpen gave up more runs and the offense couldn’t make up for it, and Ryu’s comeback ended in a loss.

On the surface, it was a poor performance, but it was a comeback that showed the potential for a resurgence. Even though he gave up a lot of runs, his stuff was solid.

Of the 80 pitches he threw on the day, 54 were strikes. In particular, Ryu threw 33 fastballs, 22 changeups, 20 curves, and five cutters, and he got out of trouble by inducing ground balls despite leaving runners on base in every inning except one.

While he doesn’t have the velocity to generate strikeouts like he did in his prime, the 11th-year big leaguer’s command of his pitches was impressive. It was also a positive that he only walked one batter with his unflappable velocity.

However, his overall lack of velocity led to four long balls. His secondary pitches were good, but the occasional mistake up the middle would lead to a long ball.

His fastball topped out at 146.5 mph, which was higher than the 146.1 mph he reached in his rehab start. His average velocity was 143.2 mph, but it still wasn’t enough.

Ryu finished his comeback with a mixed bag of results, but if he can regain some velocity in the future, 한국야동 he’ll have a much better report card.