It was such a painful four-game losing streak. Ryu Hyun-jin (36)’s team, the Toronto Blue Jays, gave up all four consecutive home games against the Texas Rangers, which was considered a watershed for advancing to the fall baseball league. Ryu Hyun-jin, who seemed to have done his part with a quality start in six innings, was so serious that he looked like a fairy when he saw him again.
Toronto lost 2-9 in the 2023 Major League (ML) home game against Texas at Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the 15th (Korea Standard Time). With a shocking sweep loss, Toronto remained 80 wins and 67 losses, ranking third with 11.5 games difference between the Baltimore Orioles (91 wins and 55 losses) and the Boston Red Sox (74 wins and 73 losses) in fourth place in the No. 4 (74 wins and 73 losses).
In fact, in the eastern district ranking, the wild card ranking was important because the third place was virtually confirmed. Prior to the start of the series with Texas, Toronto started in second place, one game ahead of the third-place Seattle Mariners, the wild card Maginot Line, and 1.5 games ahead of fourth-place Texas. However, he lost four consecutive games and fell to fourth place, giving up his place in both Texas and Seattle.안전놀이터
With Toronto remaining 15 games and Texas and Seattle remaining 16 games each, the outlook is not statistically bright. Toronto’s chances of advancing to the postseason, which reached 79.3% just before the four-game home game against Texas, fell sharply to 33.9% after a shocking four-game losing streak.
The formidable schedule and opponent’s record have significantly reduced Toronto’s chances of advancing to the postseason by less than half. It is expected to be a rough process as there are three games left with the Boston Red Sox (74 wins and 73 losses) of “50% winning rate,” six games with the New York Yankees (74 wins and 74 losses), and six games with the Tampa Bay Rays (91 wins and 57 losses). In addition, he is not ahead of his opponent’s record with three wins and three losses against his wild-card rival Seattle and one win and six losses against Texas, so he needs a clear advantage at the end of 162 games.
Toronto’s Chris Bassett is heading to the dugout after pitching in the second inning against Texas on the 12th (Korea Standard Time).
On the 15th (Korea Standard Time), the Toronto team looks disappointed.
The bigger problem is that the team felt direct limitations through this postseason confrontation with its competitors. Against Texas, Toronto played poorly throughout the four consecutive games with nine points and 35 runs. “In this series, we were really horrible in every way,” ace Kevin Gaussman told The Athletic. The pitchers gave up a lot of runs and the batters didn’t score. “Then I can’t win against a good team,” he blamed himself.
It got twisted from the start. In the first game, starting pitcher Chris Bathit suddenly ran toward third base when third baseman Mitch Garber took a large lead in the top of the second and third bases crisis. At the time, Garber aimed at Toronto third baseman Cavan Vizio leaving the third base empty due to a defensive shift and heading to the shortstop position, which involved the bat. Bashit’s check became a balk and allowed a run in vain, and in the end, he was hit hard with nine hits (one home run) and three walks, three strikeouts and five runs in 5⅓3 innings. Toronto’s 4-10 loss.
On the other hand, Ryu Hyun-jin played his part with calm pitching throughout the second game against Texas. He showed art pitching that took away the batter’s timing with a slow fastball of 88.9 miles per hour (about 143.1 kilometers) and a low-speed curve of 62.5 miles per hour (about 100.6 kilometers per hour).
As a result, he made his first quality start with the most innings after returning from elbow ligament joint surgery (Tommy John Surgery) last year with five hits, one walk, and three runs in six innings. However, Toronto lost 3-6 due to insufficient scoring support from the batters, and Ryu Hyun-jin also lost three games (3 wins) of the season.
Kevin Gaussman (right) is handing over the ball to Toronto coach John Schneider (left) as he was substituted on the 15th (Korea Standard Time).
At this time, I never imagined that three runs in six innings would be the best pitching. Kikuchi Yusei, the third starting pitcher, collapsed with two long hits with five hits (two home runs) and two walks, three strikeouts and six runs in five innings. Toronto’s batting average was worse, losing 0-10. And on the last day of the two teams’ showdown this season, Toronto lost 2-9 as even the expected ace Gaussman showed his worst pitching with six hits (two home runs) and six walks, five strikeouts and four runs in 4⅔3 innings.
After four consecutive losses in shock, The Athletic said, “Toronto’s match against Texas was a total disaster, the worst scenario, and a huge failure,” adding, “The pitching staff also deserves some criticism.” Only one of the four starters in the series, Ryu Hyun-jin, made a quality start, he said bitterly.
“Toronto was thoroughly defeated by the Texas team in every way. The 37,594 fans who gathered on this day booed the Toronto team throughout the game, and home fans have the right to express their displeasure,” he said, conveying the seething local atmosphere.