▲ In this UPI file photo from Aug. 22, 2021, Choi Ji-man of the Tampa Bay Rays (R) hits a double against the Chicago White Sox during the bottom of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Yonhap)
▲ In this USA Today Sports photo via Reuters, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the New York Yankees in the bottom of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Yankee Stadium in New York on Sept. 6, 2021. (Yonhap)
▲ In this Associated Press photo, Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the top of the ninth inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Sept. 7, 2021. (Yonhap)
▲ In this Associated Press file photo from Aug. 28, 2021, Yang Hyeon-jong of the Texas Rangers pitches against the Houston Astros during the top of the seventh inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. (Yonhap)
▲ In this USA Today Sports photo via Reuters, Park Hoy-jun of the Pittsburgh Pirates takes a swing against the Chicago Cubs during the top of the fourth inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Sept. 4, 2021. (Yonhap)

MLB-postseason

S. Korean players in MLB playoff battle as regular season winds down

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Yonhap) -- With less than a month left in the regular season, only one out of six South Korean players in the major leagues is safely in the postseason picture, while another one is making a serious push to join the party.

The Tampa Bay Rays boast the best record in the American League (AL) at 88-51 and hold a comfortable 9.5-game lead over the New York Yankees atop the AL East standings.

They've done it with their South Korean infielder Choi Ji-man sidelined for a big chunk of the season.

Choi is expected to be activated from the injured list (IL) when the team faces the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston on Wednesday (local time). The South Korean first baseman landed on the IL on Aug. 24 with a left hamstring strain.

He has been on the IL three times this season, the first two occasions with knee and groin problems. He has been limited to 64 games, in which he has batted .250/.364/.435 with nine homers and 38 RBIs.

According to playoff odds calculated by the baseball statistics website FanGraphs, the Rays have a 100 percent chance of making the postseason with 23 games remaining and an 8.9 percent chance of winning the World Series.

The Rays lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in last year's World Series; Choi became the first South Korean position player to appear in a World Series game that fall.

Among other members of the South Korean contingent, three players are in a battle for a Wild Card.

Ryu Hyun-jin and the Toronto Blue Jays are the hottest team in baseball now, with their six-game winning streak being the longest active run in the majors. The current wave has put the Blue Jays only two games back of the reeling Red Sox, losers of three straight games, for the second AL Wild Card spot. At 75-62, the Blue Jays have four games in hand on the Red Sox with 25 games to play.

Ryu has done his part to keep the streak going. The left-hander threw six shutout innings in an 8-0 victory over the Yankees on Monday for his 13th win of the season.

During their current run, the Blue Jays' playoff odds have jumped from 9.3 percent to 33.3 percent. The Jays snuck into the postseason last year, when the regular season was cut to 60 games and the playoff field expanded to eight teams per league due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Over in the National League (NL), Kim Ha-seong and the San Diego Padres are in a virtual tie with the Cincinnati Reds for the second Wild Card.

The two clubs have the same winning percentage, with the Reds sitting at 74-66 and the Padres at 73-65.

Kim hasn't been playing enough to be a factor in the playoff push. He got the start in Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. It was his first game since last Friday and only his second appearance in September.

Kim went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts in this game and is batting .201/.268/.335 with six home runs and 29 RBIs in 104 games.

The St. Louis Cardinals have dropped four straight games to fall further out of the Wild Card race. At 69-68, they sit 3.5 games out of the second Wild Card. They haven't been eliminated yet, mathematically, but do face an uphill climb with 25 games to go.

And their South Korean pitcher, Kim Kwang-hyun, has just lost a spot in the starting rotation. Kim made his first postseason start last year during the Wild Card Series but likely won't get another postseason starting assignment, even if the Cardinals get there.

Following the shortest start of his career over the weekend -- seven hits and four runs allowed in 1 2/3 innings versus the Milwaukee Brewers -- Kim was sent to the bullpen. He allowed two runs in 1 1/3 relief innings Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers and is 6-7 with a 3.67 ERA for the season.

Two other South Korean players, Texas Rangers pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong and Pittsburgh Pirates utility player Park Hoy-jun, are on teams already eliminated from the postseason.

The Rangers have the second-worst record in the LA at 50-88. The Pirates are at 50-89, also second from the bottom in the NL.

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