Toronto Blue Jays’ Hyun-jin Ryu, 36, showed off a dazzling changeup in his fourth rehab start.

Ryu started against the Triple-A Syracuse Mets (affiliated with the New York Mets) at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse, N.Y., on Wednesday (22 July) and allowed two runs on three hits (two home runs) with one walk and five strikeouts in six innings.

After struggling last season, going 2-2 with a 5.67 ERA in six games (27 innings), Ryu eventually underwent Tommy John surgery in June last year. As he continues to recover, Ryu has yet to pitch a game in the major leagues this season. However, in his minor league rehabilitation appearances, he went 2-2 with a 2.00 ERA in four games (18 innings), showing that he is ready to make a comeback.바카라사이트

Ryu, who threw 85 pitches on the day, settled in for a solid sixth inning and made the final preparations for his return to the big leagues. Keegan Mathieson, Toronto reporter for MLB.com, the official site of Major League Baseball, said, “Toronto wanted to see how well he recovered physically. Ryu has recovered perfectly. Now it’s decision time,” said Matheson, who praised Ryu’s outing. “Ryu’s control is a key factor. Toronto expects it to get better once he’s back in a major league stadium, but ideally it should be up a mile or two.” On the day, Ryu’s fastball touched 90.8 miles per hour (146.1 km/h) and averaged 88.4 miles per hour (142.3 km/h).

Most encouragingly, Ryu’s changeup has been revitalised. “It’s a fantastic changeup,” he said, “He’s throwing it exactly where he needs to throw it,” the broadcasters said. Matheson wrote, “Ryu induced seven swings and misses out of 15 swings with his changeup. His feel for his most important pitch is back.”

Toronto has a tough schedule ahead, with a 17-game homestand starting on the 29th. The Jays will need to bolster their starting rotation. The return of Hyun-jin Ryu from injury would be a huge boost to the Toronto lineup.