SEOUL– The two remaining South Korean pitchers in the majors will start on the same day for the third time this season — Sunday in the United States and Monday morning in their native country.
Ryu Hyun-jin will start for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The first pitch is 1:05 p.m. Sunday in Baltimore, or 2:05 a.m. Monday in Seoul.
Kim Kwang-hyun and his St. Louis Cardinals will face the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta at 7:08 p.m. Sunday local time, or 8:08 a.m. Monday in Seoul.
Ryu is 5-4 with a 3.43 ERA for the season. He has battled some command issues of late and walked a season-worst four batters in his most recent start Tuesday against the New York Yankees.
Ryu has issued 11 walks in his past five starts, covering 29 1/3 innings. He only allowed 17 walks in 67 innings last year.
Ryu was a perfect 4-0 with a 2.64 ERA in five May starts but is 0-2 with a 6.11 ERA in three starts so far in June.
The Blue Jays have dropped four in a row to fall one game below .500 at 33-34. They’ll try to right the ship as they face the Orioles, the worst team in the American League at 22-46, for the first time this season during the upcoming weekend series. Ryu’s start will be the finale of a three-game set.
Kim is taking a 1-4 record and a 3.72 ERA into his first career start against the Braves.
This will be Kim’s second appearance on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Back on May 16, Kim was chased after 3 1/3 innings with four runs — one earned — on the board against the San Diego Padres.
Kim is coming off his longest start of the season on Tuesday, when he held the Miami Marlins to a run on three hits in six innings. Kim walked a season-high five batters while striking out six.
The Cardinals are 35-34, four games out of first in the crowded National League (NL) Central. The Braves are 31-35, good for third in the NL East.
The two southpaws both started on June 4 and again on Tuesday. They both suffered losses on the first occasion and got no-decisions the next time.
They started on the same day four times during the 2020 regular season, and both earned victories on Sept. 24.
A third South Korean left-hander in the U.S., Yang Hyeon-jong of the Texas Rangers, was designated for assignment on Thursday. He was immediately removed from the 40-man roster. Yang must be traded, released or placed on irrevocable waivers within seven days.
Source: Yonhap News Agency