“I can’t believe this injury…” Ryu Hyun-jin loses more than he gained, is this the end for his best catcher?

At Coors Field, the ‘graveyard of pitchers’, 카지노 Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto Blue Jays) survived, but his ‘best catcher’ Danny Jansen (28) suffered a fatal injury. Maybe this will be the last game where the two players work together as a battery. 

Ryu Hyun-jin started the away game against the Colorado Rockies held at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, USA on the 2nd (Korean time), and pitched 5 innings, allowing 4 hits (1 home run), 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 2 runs, leading Toronto to a 13-9 victory. A stepping stone to victory was laid. 

Coors Field, located at an altitude of 1,600 meters above sea level, is famous for being a hitter-friendly stadium where batted balls travel far due to low air resistance. Referee Angel Hernández, who was in charge of refereeing the game that day, is notorious for his inconsistent zone. In these two adverse conditions, Ryu Hyun-jin did not waver and held on well, allowing 2 runs in 5 innings.

He hit a two-run home run off Elihuris Montero in the 3rd inning, but blocked the remaining 4 innings stably without any major crisis. He used a four-seam fastball (37) with a maximum speed of 90.1 miles (145 km), a cutter (17), a curve (12), and a change-up (10). He had fun by increasing the proportion of cutters instead of curves, which became his new main weapon. 

Ryu Hyun-jin, who had pitched less than 2 earned runs in the last 5 consecutive games, was replaced with 76 pitches, and his average ERA rose from 2.25 to 2.48. More than anything, it was disappointing that their 4th win of the season was lost due to bullpen trouble. They went down with a 4-2 lead and had the starting win requirement, but relief Genesis Cabrera, who came up with 2 outs and 1st and 2nd bases in the 6th inning, allowed Nolan Jones to hit a come-from-behind three-run home run. 

However, there was a bigger negative news for Ryu Hyun-jin. On this day, catcher Jansen, who teamed up with Ryu Hyun-jin and hit a two-run home run with the score tied 2-2 in the sixth inning, suffered an unexpected injury. Jansen, who complained of pain after being hit on his right hand by Colorado batter Jones’ second foul ball while fielding in the 6th inning, defended until the end of the inning and was replaced by pinch hitter Alejandro Kirk in the 7th inning. 

According to local media, including Canada’s Sports Net, Jansen took an X-ray, and it was confirmed that the bone in the middle finger of his right hand was fractured. The Toronto team plans to conduct additional tests to more accurately determine his condition, but has decided to call up catcher Tyler Heineman from Triple A. We need to see the results of additional tests, but for the time being, it will be difficult for Jansen to wear the catcher’s mask. 

Toronto coach John Schneider said, “It’s unfortunate. “It was a pretty strange injury,” he said, regretting, “now it seems like all of those injuries are happening all at once.” This week alone, Toronto lost starting third baseman Matt Chapman (finger), shortstop Bo Bichette (quadriceps), and even Jansen due to injuries. Chapman and Bisset are expected to be able to return soon, but Jansen is unlikely to return within the remaining month of the season due to a fracture. 

Jansen, who has been with Toronto for six years after making his major league debut in 2018, has a batting average of .228 (61 hits in 268 at-bats) in 86 games this year, with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs, and an OPS of .786. 17 home runs is a personal record. Above all, the defense is stable, and he is the catcher with whom Ryu Hyun-jin has worked the most since he came to Toronto in 2020. Ryu Hyun-jin played 41 out of 55 games in Toronto with Jansen, recording an ERA of 3.47 in 215⅓ innings. 

However, this injury made it difficult to work with Jansen for the remainder of the season. This can also be said to be bad news for Ryu Hyun-jin. He and Kirk, another catcher, formed a battery just once against the Oakland Athletics on April 17 last year, but the results were not good as he allowed 6 hits (1 home run), no walks, 1 strikeout, and 5 runs in 4 innings. I have never worked with Heinemann before. 

Ryu Hyun-jin, who becomes a free agent at the end of this season, is likely to leave Toronto. Perhaps today’s game at Coors Field may be the last game that Ryu Hyun-jin and Jansen Battery play together.