Trying to regain consistency with his best pitch, the changeup, Toronto Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin put his head down and got to work in the bullpen during the All-Star break. And he came out throwing it as well as he has at any point this year. The South Korean left-hander rode the changeup to a seven-inning shutout of the Texas Rangers at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on Sunday (local time). Ryu held the opponents to three hits in the first game of a doubleheader for his first complete game

Though it came in an abbreviated game, Ryu Hyun-jin will take a complete game shutout in any shape or form. The South Korean starter for the Toronto Blue Jays pitched a seven-inning shutout against the Texas Rangers to open the second half of the season at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on Sunday (local time), carrying Toronto to a 5-0 win in the first game of a doubleheader. Ryu gave up three hits and a walk while striking out four, after his scheduled start was pushed back by a day due to

The South Korean men's Olympic football team almost had a brush with the novel coronavirus over the weekend, even before the start of their competition in Japan. Ryu Seung-min, a South Korean member of the International Olympic Committee, was diagnosed with COVID-19 after arriving in Japan on Saturday. The football team had been scheduled to be on the same flight with Ryu but took a different, earlier flight instead following a last-minute change. Given the recent surge in new cases in and aro

As roster decisions go, this was probably the easiest one to make for the South Korean Olympic baseball manager Kim Kyung-moon. During a press conference on Sunday at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Kim named Oh Seung-hwan, he of more than 400 professional saves in three different leagues, as his closer for the Tokyo Olympics. The 39-year-old right-hander for the Samsung Lions is the career saves leader in Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) history with 322. He is leading the league this year with 2

During South Korea's inexorable march to the baseball gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the defining moment for catcher Kang Min-ho came not in an at-bat or a defensive play but in an ejection. With South Korea nursing a 3-2 lead over Cuba in the bottom of the ninth inning in the gold medal showdown, Kang was tossed after arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Carlos Rey. The angry catcher slammed his mask into the ground and threw his mitt toward the dugout on his way out. Cu

With his family watching him pitch in the majors in person for the first time, St. Louis Cardinals' South Korean starter Kim Kwang-hyun delivered an outstanding performance. While twirling six shutout innings against the San Francisco Giants in a 3-1 win at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Saturday (local time), Kim had to keep his emotions in check. "I tried not to get caught up in the thoughts of my family and just focus on the game at hand," Kim said in his postgame Zoom session. He

St. Louis Cardinals' Kim Kwang-hyun has shut down the best team in the majors once again. The South Korean left-hander tossed six scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants in a 3-1 victory at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Saturday (local time). By winning his fourth consecutive start, Kim improved to 5-5 for the year and lowered his ERA from 3.11 to 2.87. Kim's scoreless innings streak has now reached 21. The last run Kim allowed came in the third inning of a home game against the Ar

Two baseball players have been fined by local health authorities for violating social distancing rules, in a new wrinkle to a damaging misconduct scandal that has rocked professional sports in the country. Gangnam Ward office in southern Seoul said Saturday evening that it has levied a fine on one player each from the Hanwha Eagles and the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for being involved in an illegal social gathering. The players also face a potential police investigat

In the latest fallout from a COVID-19-related misconduct scandal, South Korean pitcher Han Hyun-hee withdrew from the Olympic baseball team Saturday. The right-hander was promptly replaced by former major league closer Oh Seung-hwan. Han, who pitches for the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), admitted to and apologized for leaving the team hotel on a road trip last week for drinks with a teammate and three other guests. Contact tracing and epidemiological studies are und

Eight matches in the top South Korean football league have been canceled due to a rising number of coronavirus infections across the circuit. The Korea Professional Football League (K League) announced Friday that eight matches scheduled for July in the first-tier K League 1 will be contested at a later date to guard against the further spread of COVID-19. Four clubs -- Seongnam FC, Jeju United, Daegu FC and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors -- have reported 18 positive COVID-19 cases so far. The eight

South Korean minor leaguer Park Hoy-jun was set to be called up by the New York Yankees this week in the Bronx, pushing the 25-year-old closer to his big league debut, an informed source told Yonhap News Agency. The source, requesting anonymity, said Park was being added to the major league taxi squad and "heading to New York on standby" on Thursday (local time). The Yankees were scheduled to host the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium that day to open the second half of the season, but

On paper, they may not jump off the page as medal contenders at the Tokyo Olympics. But Im Sung-jae and Kim Si-woo, representing South Korea in the Olympic men's golf tournament, understand the competition won't be played on paper. The two players qualified for the 60-man Olympic field as the top-two South Koreans on the world rankings as of June 21. Im, the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year for 2018-2019, was No. 26. Kim, a three-time tour winner, sat at No. 49. They have since slipped a notch and

A local official handling contact tracing during the coronavirus pandemic is accusing professional baseball players of covering up an illegal gathering in violation of social distancing rules. The official from the Gangnam Ward office in southern Seoul told Yonhap News Agency on Thursday that players from the NC Dinos in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and their two outside guests initially didn't report their drinking session at an NC team hotel room in Seoul last week. In all, four Din

Seongnam FC said Thursday four additional players have been infected with the novel coronavirus, raising the total on the K League 1 football team to 15. Nine players and six staff members for Seongnam are now on the COVID-19 list. The first positive case for the K League 1 club was reported Sunday. The rest of the team, 46 players, coaches and staffers, immediately received polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Two players and five staffers received positive results Monday, followed by one

South Korea-based former major leaguer Choo Shin-soo will spend the next two weeks in the United States to receive treatment and spend time with his family, his club announced Thursday. The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Choo will depart for America on Saturday. He will have his left elbow and shoulder looked at by Dr. Keith Meister, the head physician for Choo's former major league club, Texas Rangers. After 16 seasons in the bigs, Choo signed with the Landers in Fe