The Toronto Blue Jays’ Ryu Hyun-jin, 36, is expected to make his first career start against the three-time Cy Young Award-winning legendary ace following his miraculous comeback from Tommy John surgery.

Hyun-jin Ryu, who did not take a loss in his start against the Oakland Athletics on April 7 (ET) after allowing two runs on four hits over five innings, will start at home against the Texas Rangers on April 13 if he follows the normal rotation. It will be his eighth start since returning.

However, he will be facing Texas ace Max Scherzer, who is the favorite to start. Scherzer took the mound on the 2nd against the Houston Astros, so his start on the 13th against Toronto is the normal order.

Texas’ website lists Jordan Montgomery, Sonny Gray, and Andrew Heaney as the starters for the three-game series against Oakland on Sept. 9-11. For the four-game series against Toronto on Dec. 12-14, the rotation will naturally be Nathan Ivaldi, Scherzer, Montgomery, and Gray.

Toronto hosts the Kansas City Royals for a three-game series from Sept. 9-11, with Yusei Kikuchi slated to start day one, but Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios are expected to pitch the second and third games. For the four-game series against Texas, the rotation will be Chris Bassett, Hyun-jin Ryu, Kikuchi, and Gaussman.

Both Toronto and Texas are coming off of eight days of rest, so Game 13 will be the first time Ryu and Scherzer have pitched on five days’ rest.

Toronto and Texas are in a tight race for one of the two American League (AL) wild card spots. As of today, Toronto sits in third place with 77 wins and 63 losses, while Texas (76 wins and 63 losses) is half a game back in fourth. The two veteran starters will go head-to-head in a four-game series that could make or break the fate of both teams.

In their 11-year major league careers, Ryu and Scherzer have never faced each other as starters. Ryu had a few chances to face the former Washington Nationals ace when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but rotation changes kept them separated by a day or two.

In the 2019 Division Series, the two were expected to pitch together in Game 3, but Scherzer pitched one inning as a setup man in Game 2, skipping Game 3 and starting Game 4. Hyun-jin Ryu went to Game 3 in that order and faced Patrick Corbin, giving up two runs on four hits in five innings to earn the win. It was Ryu’s last win in the postseason.

Scherzer has had an up-and-down season this year. In the second year of his three-year, $130 million contract with the New York Mets, he started the season strong with a win in the opener, but his form has been spotty and he was ejected from an April 20 game against the Los Angeles Dodgers after a sticky substance was found on his glove. The incident earned him a 10-game suspension.

Upon his return in early May, he continued to struggle, giving up seven runs in 3⅓ innings against the Detroit Tigers, followed by five runs on 11 hits in 5⅔ innings against the Atlanta Braves on June 8 and six runs in 3⅓ innings against the New York Yankees the next game.

After being traded to Texas, he pitched with relative consistency, but had his worst outing of the season on July 7 at Houston, giving up seven runs on six hits and two walks in three innings, his most in a single game this season. Scherzer is 12-6 with a 3.91 ERA this season and 3-2 with a 3.63 ERA in seven starts since being traded to Texas.

Ryu is 3-2 with a 2.65 ERA in seven starts since his return. Against Texas, he is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA in three career starts.바카라사이트

Commenting on Ryu’s successful return after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Canadian outlet Sportsnet said, “The odds of Ryu being able to pitch again, let alone effectively, after undergoing TJS last summer were extremely slim,” and “Toronto wasn’t sure how to plan for him in 2023, but he’s proving to be an important part of the team’s ascent.