One wrong move could have sent them to the bottom of the standings. The Toronto Blue Jays, the team of “Korean Monster” Ryu Hyun-jin (36), have turned the corner, snapping a three-game losing streak. After a season-long struggle, the Blue Jays finally beat Baltimore, the American League East leader, and snapped a three-game losing streak.메이저놀이터
Toronto defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 on Wednesday (March 3) at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the final day of the 2023 Major League Baseball regular season. A three-run sixth inning broke open a 1-1 tie. Starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, 32, earned the victory with six innings of six-hit ball, striking out three and walking one.
With the win, Toronto moved to 60 wins (49 losses) on the season. They also snapped a three-game losing streak to Baltimore (66-42) and remain in third place in the division. The Rays are now 2-7 against Baltimore this season. The Rays closed to 6.5 games behind first-place Baltimore and five games behind second-place Tampa Bay (66-45). The gap with the fourth-place Boston Red Sox (57-51) widened again to 2.5 games.
In games played on the same day, Tampa Bay and Boston suffered side-by-side losses. Tampa Bay fell 2-7 to the last-place New York Yankees (56-52) in the American League East, while Boston lost 3-6 to the Seattle Mariners. The gap between fourth-place Boston and fifth-place Yankees has shrunk to one game.
Toronto continues to battle teams from the same division in a tight standings battle. They play the final game of the series against Baltimore on April 4, followed by a series against Boston from April 5-7. The series against Boston is crucial. The Red Sox need to avenge their six-game sweep this season. A favorable series result against the Red Sox will keep their chances of jumping to the top of the standings alive. If they lose, they will have to worry about falling to the bottom of the standings.
Meanwhile, Hyun-jin Ryu is expected to start against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Aug. 8. With Toronto’s six-man rotation, he’ll likely be back on the mound after five days off.
[Toronto players celebrate after winning Game 3 (top), Kikuchi (middle), and the American League East standings. Photos by Getty Images, MLB.com]