2 Korean MLB players to start on Friday for the 3rd time this season

Toronto Blue Jays’ Ryu Hyun-jin and St. Louis Cardinals’ Kim Kwang-hyun will start on the same day for the third time this season, continuing their quest to earn a major league win on the same day as Korean pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB).

According to Blue Jays’ manager Charlie Montoyo on Tuesday, Ryu Hyun-jin will get the ball on Friday against the Boston Red Sox. Ryu’s team will have a match with the Boston Red Sox at its home Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York at 7: 37 a.m. on Friday (Korea Time).

Kim Kwang-hyun is expected to start for the Cardinals at the team’s home ballpark Busch Stadium on the same day although there has not been an official announcement. This is because Cardinals’ pitcher Dakota Hudson, who is ahead of Kim in rotation, is scheduled to start on Thursday. The St. Louis Cardinals will play a home double-header (seven innings each) against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.

The Boston Red Sox is practically considering “tanking (abandoning the seasons)” after recording nine wins and 20 losses (0.310 winning rate) as of Tuesday. It is not a tough opponent for Ryu, who has proved that he is the ace by posting a 1.23 ERA for four games this month Ryu is highly likely to pick up a win if the Blue Jays’ hitters do their shares.

The Pittsburg Pirates have even worse records than the Red Sox with seven wins and 17 losses (winning rate of 0.292) as of Tuesday. But it could be a threat to Kim as the team has a batting average of 0.301 against left-handers. Kim has struggled more against left-handed hitters (batting average 0.333) than right-handed hitters (0.182) in MLB. Kim earned his first save in MLB against the Pirates on July 26.


Kyu-In Hwang kini@donga.com