The Los Angeles Dodgers got back in the win column on Wednesday night, hanging on to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 2-1, at Chase Field. It came at an expense though, as starter Hyun-Jin Ryu left the game in the second inning with a strained left groin.
The injury was a tough break for Ryu and the Dodgers considering he was off to such a good start to the season. He entered the night 3-0 with a 2.22 ERA through his first five starts, and had recorded at least seven strikeouts in four of the outings.
Ryu was obviously upset after the game, admitting that he was in pain and disappointed with suffering the injury, via J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
“It doesn’t feel good,” he said of the groin injury. “It was the last pitch that probably got me.”
“I’m definitely very disappointed,” he continued. “I came into the season very healthy and I actually had pretty good performances throughout the beginning of the season. At this point, I’m not really sure. We’ll have to see how the result comes back. At this point, I feel frustrated and disappointed.”
Ryu is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Thursday morning, so the exact severity of his injury will be determined from that. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that it is not looking good for the southpaw.
Ryu has dealt with a similar groin injury in the past, which caused him to miss around a month of action. If that is the case, then the Dodgers will likely use top prospect Walker Buehler in the rotation as a replacement.
Buehler has been filling in for Rich Hill while he has been on the disabled list, but Hill is scheduled to return to action Sunday against the San Diego Padres. With Ryu on the shelf now though, having Buehler on the big league club will continue to be necessary.
