The tunnel was 14 months long.

The Toronto Blue Jays’ Hyun-jin Ryu will finally take the mound in the big leagues. It’s Aug. 2 at 8:07 a.m. ET against the Baltimore Orioles at home at Rogers Centre.

On July 29, MLB.com tweeted, “The wait is over. Ryu Hyun-jin is back. He joins the rotation against the Orioles in Toronto next Tuesday (local time).” “With the addition of Hyun-jin Ryu, the Blue Jays will go with a six-man rotation. It’s a timely move for a 17-game road trip starting today.

The media outlet continued, “The Blue Jays have two off days immediately following the 17-game series. It’s a natural transition back to a five-man rotation, but Ryu is an immediate boost for the postseason push.

It will be 14 months and 426 days since Hyun-jin Ryu took the mound in a major league game against the Chicago White Sox at the same venue on June 2 last year. Toronto has been in the thick of the wild-card race in the second half of the season.

With a 57-46 record, Toronto is third in the American League East and third in the wild card race. They are 5.5 games behind first-place Baltimore and four games behind the second-place Tampa Bay Rays. They are also 1.5 games behind the fourth wild-card spot, the Boston Red Sox. They have a shot at winning the division while also securing a wild card.

The Toronto rotation is actually tired. With Alec Manoa out for the month of June for minor league instruction, the four starters who have been utilizing a “four-man rotation plus bullpen days” are in need of a boost. That’s where Ryu comes in.

Ryu had a Tommy John surgery on his left elbow on June 19 last year in Los Angeles by Dr. Neil Ellatrache. He began pitching in earnest in April, starting with catching, and after four minor league rehabilitation appearances in July, he joined the team for the trip to Los Angeles on July 25.

Locally, the keyword for Ryu’s comeback is restraint. In his most recent start, an 85-pitch outing at Triple-A on Aug. 22, Ryu upped his fastball’s velocity to a high of 90.8 mph and an average of 88.4 mph. That’s very close to his pre-surgery average of 89.3 mph.

As MLB.com notes, “Ryu’s velocity has been sitting in the 88-89 mph range during his rehab appearances. That’s a key number to keep an eye on when he joins the rotation. Typically, he’s effective when he sits at 90-91 mph,” and “The Blue Jays are pleased with Ryu’s changeup, which is his primary weapon. We’re also excited to see the difference in Ryu as he sheds weight and gets back into excellent shape.

The Toronto rotation is now Kevin Gausman, Manoa, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, Hyun-jin Ryu, and Yusei Kikuchi. Kikuchi, who starts against Baltimore on Wednesday with Hyun-jin Ryu in the lineup, will be coming off a six-day layoff after earning his eighth win of the season with a six-inning, seven-hit, eight-strikeout performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 27.카지노

Hyun-jin Ryu is expected to use a six-man rotation against Baltimore on Aug. 2, the Cleveland Indians on Aug. 8 and the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 14. If he survives the five-man rotation with three quality starts over the 17-game stretch, he could make a total of 11 starts this season. That’s plenty of time to prove his worth in free agency at the end of the season.