The “Korean Monster” Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto Blue Jays) will once again take the mound in a crucial game with the fate of his team on the line. With miracles on the line, the Jays need to keep the momentum going.

The Toronto Blue Jays earned a thrilling 4-3 extra-inning victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday (July 17) at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The race for the American League wild-card berth is tight, with no one knowing what to expect. Toronto didn’t seem to have much of a shot at making the postseason until Hyun-jin Ryu returned to the mound. However, the team has faltered since Ryu’s return and has yet to clinch a spot in fall baseball.

In particular, Toronto played a four-game series against the Texas Rangers, who are battling for the American League wild card, from December 12-15, and after a shocking “sweep,” their chances of making the postseason seemed to vanish. However, the day before, the Rangers and Seattle Mariners had lost back-to-back games, and Toronto had bounced back with a sweep of Boston.

The previous day’s good fortune allowed Toronto to sweep Boston for the second straight day. It was a game where you really didn’t know who was going to win. The game was very close in the beginning. Boston’s ace, Chris Sale, and Toronto’s $63 million man, Chris Bassett, each kept the other’s bats in check, creating a tight game. It was Boston who broke the ice first.

The Red Sox broke the tie in the top of the sixth inning when leadoff hitter Wilier Abreu drew a walk, and the next batter, Rafael Devers, crushed a 93.7-mph (150.8 km/h) four-seam fastball into the outside of the strike zone for a two-run homer. Then Toronto answered back.

Toronto responded in the bottom of the seventh when leadoff hitter Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lined a slider just outside the strike zone from Sale, who was still on the mound, for a solo home run. The game, which appeared to be heading for a Boston victory, was balanced in the ninth inning as the Toronto bats failed to produce a run.

Toronto had one last chance in the bottom of the ninth when Cavan Biggio singled to put runners on second and first. This is where the miracle happened. Dalton Bashaw hit a line drive to center field against John Shriver, who was on the mound to close out the game. Boston center fielder Sedan Rafaela misjudged where the ball would land, and it was a game-tying triple.

Toronto couldn’t get the next two outs, but they did manage to extend the game. Once again, it was Boston that scored first. In the top of the 12th inning, Pablo Reyes hit an RBI single with runners on first and second to regain the lead. However, Toronto tied the game back up at 3-3 in the bottom of the 12th when Beau Bisset traded an out for a run.

It was Toronto that had the last laugh. After Boston failed to score in the top of the 13th, Toronto put the finishing touches on a long, long game in the bottom of the 13th when Whit Merrifield hit an infield single to the third baseman with two outs. And then, once again, the stars aligned for Toronto. After Toronto’s win, the Texas Rangers and Cleveland Cavaliers, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners took a knee.스포츠토토

Prior to this game, the gap between Texas (2nd American League Wild Card) and Toronto (4th) was 1.5 games, but Texas’ loss narrowed the gap to 0.5 games, and Seattle’s loss allowed Toronto to keep its hopes alive as the Wild jumped to 3rd place. This made Ryu’s role very important once again. Ryu will take the mound against the Boston Red Sox at 2:37 a.m. on April 18.

Ryu, whose best outing since returning from Tommy John surgery was five innings of two-run ball, recorded his first quality start (six innings, three earned runs or less) against Texas in his last outing, but was unable to get any support from his offense and took the loss. Even if the bats are silent this time around, Ryu will need to minimize runs.

His record against Boston is not bad. In six career starts against the Red Sox, Ryu is 2-2 with a 4.01 ERA in 33⅔ innings pitched. Can Ryu lead Toronto to the postseason?