Korean big leaguers, who suffered from large and small injuries, are stretching. “Korean Monster” Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto Blue Jays) 메이저놀이터 started full-fledged rehabilitation after surgery, and Choi Ji-man (Pittsburgh Pirates), who injured his Achilles tendon, also joined the team and restarted his home run, signaling his performance in the second half.
Ryu Hyun-jin pitched well with three hits and no runs in four innings in a game against the Tampa Tarpons under the New York Yankees at TD Ball Park in Dunedin on the 10th (Korea Standard Time). It was his second actual pitching since his rehabilitation appearance (one run in three innings) in the Rookie League on the 5th. In addition, it is the first time in 13 months that Ryu Hyun-jin threw more than four innings in a real game since the match against the Chicago White Sox on June 2 last year.
Ryu Hyun-jin showed off his stable pitching on the same day. He was hit by a double in the first inning, but was tagged out as the runner forced to run to third base. Ryu Hyun-jin, who retired three times in the second inning with five balls, continued to score no runs in the third inning by handling all three batters with flying balls. In the fourth inning, the leadoff batter got on base due to a defensive error, but he caught a follow-up batter with a double play and quickly increased the out count to two. He then faced a crisis with two outs and runners on first and second base after consecutive hits, but struck out the last batter and finished the inning.
Ryu Hyun-jin, who threw 42 pitches in his first rehabilitation game this year, threw 37 pitches on the same day. He showed off his perfect control, with a strike ratio of 73%. Ryu Hyun-jin, who has been stable for two consecutive games, is expected to join the starting rotation in the second half of the season as he plans to coordinate the timing of his big league appearance in the future.
Choi Ji-man, who was on the injured list after injuring his left Achilles tendon in mid-April, also hit a home run after his recent return, boosting his batting sense. Choi Ji-man recorded a multi-hit, reporting a home run in 89 days against the Arizona Diamondbacks on the 10th, his third game since joining the big league again. The home run was meaningful because he was sluggish with one hit in eight at-bats in two games after his return.
Kim Ha-sung (San Diego Padres), who shot a “career high” in the first half of this season, is also expected to play in the second half. Kim Ha-sung, who showed off his extraordinary batting sense by hitting three hits in the first two games of this season, recorded a multi-hit against the New York Mets, finishing the first half with a batting average of 0.258 and 10 home runs, 31 RBIs, and 16 steals.