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2 Korean pitchers to make final season starts on same day

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Ryu Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Toronto Blue Jays delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on September 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. AFP-Yonhap
Ryu Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Toronto Blue Jays delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on September 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. AFP-Yonhap

Two South Korean starters in the majors will both make their final appearances of the 2020 regular season this week.

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays will face the New York Yankees at Toronto's alternate home, Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, at 6:37 p.m. Thursday (local time), or 7:37 a.m. Friday in Seoul.

On the same day, the St. Louis Cardinals will send Kim Kwang-hyun to the mound against the Milwaukee Brewers. The first pitch at Busch Stadium in St. Louis is 7:15 p.m. Thursday (local time), or 9:15 a.m. Friday in South Korea.

Both Ryu and Kim will be pitching of four days' rest. Their previous starts came Saturday.

This will be the fourth time this season that these two will start on the same day. They have yet to win together. Last weekend, Ryu suffered his second loss of the season despite holding the Philadelphia Phillies to two runs over six innings. Kim had his worst start of the year, getting charged with four earned runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but his teammates got him off the hook and rallied for a 5-4 victory.

Ryu, 4-2 with a 3.00 ERA, is lined up to start the opening game of the first round of the postseason on Sept. 29, with the Blue Jays well on their way to their first playoffs in four years.

They entered Tuesday's game against the Yankees holding down the eighth and final postseason berth in the American League (AL) at 28-26. The magic number to clinch a postseason spot ― the combination of the Blue Jays' win and a loss by their closest pursuer, the Seattle Mariners ― was three. The Blue Jays will have five games left after Tuesday.

Should the Blue Jays lock down a playoff spot by Ryu's start, the veteran left-hander likely won't be asked to carry his usual workload of 90-plus pitches. He may instead go just a couple of innings so he can be ready to pitch on another four days off for the all-important first game of a playoff series.

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Kwang-Hyun Kim throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020, in St. Louis. AP
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Kwang-Hyun Kim throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020, in St. Louis. AP

The Yankees have had Ryu's number, dating back to his days with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his previous meeting with the Bronx Bombers on Sept. 7, Ryu was roughed up for a season-worst three home runs in five innings. Ryu is 0-2 with an 8.8 ERA in three career starts against the Yankees.

The Cardinals, at 26-25, are also in the playoff hunt, as the sixth seed in the National League (NL) prior to Tuesday's game against the Kansas City Royals.

Though the Cardinals appear to be better positioned than the Blue Jays, their race is much tighter than Toronto's.

In the expanded format this year, the top two clubs from each division, plus the next two best teams, will advance to the postseason. The Cardinals are clinging to the second spot in the NL Central, ahead of the Cincinnati Reds (28-27) by 0.001 point in winning percentage and leading the Brewers (26-27) by just one game.

Even after his rough outing the last time out, Kim remains a perfect 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA as a big league rookie.

He faced the Brewers on Sept. 14, and held them scoreless in seven innings while giving up three hits and striking out a career-high six.

Kim, who threw 24 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run before his last start, has pitched himself into the Rookie of the Year conversations. He won't have enough innings to qualify for the ERA title ― he began the season as the closer and missed some time earlier this month with a kidney ailment ― but Kim leads all major league starters with at least 30 innings pitched in that category. (Yonhap)




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