Fresh off his first quality start (six innings or less) since returning from the disabled list in his last start, the "Korean Monster" will take the mound in search of his fourth career win and the team"s third straight victory.

 

Ryu will take the mound for the 2023 Major League Baseball World Series against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It"s a big game for Ryu, and a big game for Toronto.

 

In Major League Baseball, the top three teams with the best winning percentage in each division, aside from the first-place team in each district, qualify for the postseason as a "wild card," and Toronto is currently at a crossroads in fall baseball. With the end of the regular season fast approaching, every game counts.

 

The Jays faced off against the Texas Rangers, who are also in the American League wild-card race, from Sept. 13-15. Before the four-game series began, Toronto was in second place in the wild-card race and Texas was in fourth. The two teams were separated by 1.5 games. However, a "sweep" in the four-game series against Texas would put a "red flag" on their postseason hopes.

 

Toronto seemed to be slipping away from postseason contention when they were brought to their knees by Texas, but lately, all the luck seems to be in Toronto"s favor. That"s because Texas lost two straight to the Cleveland Cavaliers after the four-game series with Toronto, and the Seattle Mariners were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Toronto, on the other hand, is on a two-game winning streak after taking down the Boston Red Sox.

 

Currently, American League wild card Texas (82 wins, 66 losses, .554 winning percentage) sits in second place, followed by Toronto (82 wins, 67 losses, .550 winning percentage), who are just 0.5 games back. Seattle was the third wild-card spot with 17 games to play, but dropped to fourth after becoming the Dodgers" "sacrificial lamb" for the district title, but they are only one game back of Texas.

 

Ryu took the mound in the middle of a four-game series against Texas on the 13th, and for the first time since returning from Tommy John surgery, he pitched a quality start (6 innings, 3 earned runs or less). However, he was unable to get any support from his offense and took the loss. And once again, he took the mound under a lot of pressure.

 

For now, Ryu has been pitching well. In his first post-surgery start, he gave up four runs (four earned) in five innings against the Baltimore Orioles, but he followed that up with a four-inning "no-hitter" in his second start, and has been at his best in his last five games, pitching five innings of two-run ball.

 

If there"s any disappointment, it"s that after picking up three wins in August, the Red Sox have been unable to find the win column in September, despite pitching well. Still, Boston is currently in last place in the American League East, and with a 2-2 record and a 4.01 ERA in their career head-to-head matchups, this is a chance to snap the losing streak.

 

Boston may be in last place, but they can"t afford to let their guard down. Adam Duvall is batting .417 against Ryu, including two career home runs, Bobby Dalbec is batting .429, Boston "signature" Rafael Devers is batting .333, and "old teammate" Alex Verdugo is batting .600. That"s why he"ll need the support of his bats this time around.

 

The Boston lineup that Hyun-Jin Ryu will be facing is as follows: Sedan Rafaela (center field), Rob Lefseider (left field), Justin Turner (designated hitter), Rafael Devers (third base), Adam Duvall (right field), Pablo Reyes (second base), Trevor Story (shortstop), Bobby Dalbec (first base), and Rhys Maguire (catcher). Seven right-handed hitters.

 

Supporting Ryu will be George Springer (designated hitter), Bo Bissett (shortstop), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (first base), Davis Schneider (second base), Cavan Biggio (right field), Matt Chapman (third base), Kevin Kiermaier (center field), Dalton Bashaw (left field), and Tyler Heinemann (catcher). Ryu will be paired with Heinemann for the third straight game.

 

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