“Hyun-jin Ryu’s form is crazy,” “He pitches smart”…Club and local media praise (aggregate)After returning from his third elbow surgery of his career, 36-year-old pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu (Toronto Blue Jays) has pitched three consecutive scoreless games, and the team, local media, and officials have been lavishing praise on him.

The Toronto Blue Jays heaped praise on Hyun-jin Ryu after he pitched five innings of two-run (unearned) baseball, allowing four hits, one walk and striking out seven in a 10-3 victory over the visiting Cincinnati Reds of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Baseball World Series 2023 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, on Monday (July 21).

Toronto posted a compilation of photos of Ryu’s pitches and videos of his strikeouts on the team’s social media immediately after the game, calling him “Monster” and “Masterclass,” meaning master.

He then wrote in Korean, “Ryu Hyun-jin’s form is crazy,” and displayed a Korean flag.

Since undergoing ligament splicing surgery on his left elbow in June last year, Ryu has been performing at his best without any after-effects.

In his first game back, he took the loss against the Baltimore Orioles on August 2 with five innings and four earned runs, but continued his performance with four scoreless innings against the Cleveland Indians on August 8 and five innings and two runs (no earned runs) against the Chicago Cubs on August 14.

He continued his scoreless streak, lowering his season ERA from 2.57 to 1.89.

Ryu has taken a knife to his left elbow three times in his career.

In April 2004, when he was a sophomore at Dongsan High School in Incheon, he underwent left elbow ligament splicing surgery, and in September 2016, he went under the knife to remove necrotic tissue from his left elbow.

He underwent another elbow ligament reconstruction last year.

The odds were stacked against Ryu’s comeback, but he has continued to perform as well as he did in his prime.

Local media and officials have also praised Ryu.

“The game was a reminder of what Ryu is capable of at his best,” said MLB.com, “He didn’t throw any ‘wow’ pitches, but he made smart pitches to keep hitters off balance.”

“Ryu is a pitcher who reads hitters’ swings and thoughts well, which makes him especially strong against hitters with aggressive tendencies.”

The outlet cited Ryu’s strikeout of Cincinnati’s “monster rookie” Eli De La Cruz as an example.

“Ryu threw a (very slow) 66 mph (about 106 km/h) fastball and a 67 mph (108 km/h) curveball against Cruz for a strikeout,” MLB.com said.

“Ryu’s pitching was undoubtedly the key to the win,” said Sportsnet, “and it was his best outing since surgery.”

“Ryu has now pitched 14 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run,” said Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star. “It’s amazing to see someone who has been rehabbing for more than 14 months have such good velocity and command. “It’s amazing to see a player who has been rehabbing for more than 14 months have such good velocity and command of his pitches. 바카라사이트

Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer was equally impressed with Ryu’s pitches.

“Ryu threw a 70-mile-per-hour (about 110-kilometer-per-hour) curveball to dominate Cincinnati hitters,” he wrote.