Hyun-Jin Ryu was removed in the third inning Saturday night after being hit on his left arm by by a Joe Panik line drive. Ryu managed to field the ball and make the throw to first base for the out.
He was then checked on by Dodgers head athletic trainer Nate Lucero, and later said to have suffered a forearm contusion. The team added X-rays came back negative. The short start was not what Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had planned for the southpaw.
Unlike Kenta Maeda last week, Roberts said Ryu’s outing was not going to be capped at three innings of fewer in anticipation of a move to the bullpen. Whereas that might be what’s ahead for Maeda, Roberts backtracked and said a decision for Ryu was not yet made.
After his short outing, Ryu expressed a hope to remain in contention for a spot on the Dodgers playoff roster as a starting pitcher, via Joshua Thornton of MLB.com:
“I’m definitely looking for a starting spot in the postseason,” Ryu said through an interpreter. “But with the injury I have now, things might change. But my job is to work on recovering and get back on the mound and do what I can do.”
Even had the 30-year-old managed to get through his start against the San Francisco Giants without issue, cracking the playoff rotation figured to be a difficult proposition. Clayton Kershaw, Yu Darvish and Rich Hill are essentially locks.
Alex Wood projects to be the fourth starter, though his experience and success in pitching out of the bullpen may create the opportunity Ryu needs. The Dodgers previously expressed hesitation in moving Ryu to a role as a reliever, because of his process to warm up and loosen his surgically-repaired throwing shoulder.
Ryu entered Saturday’s start 2-1 with a 2.36 ERA and holding opponents to a .218/.303/.330 batting line since the All-Star break. The Dodgers were 6-3 in those nine starts.
