Los Angeles Dodgers injuries have ravaged their pitching staff this season, which among other factors, has created opportunities for River Ryan and more rookies.
Ryan made his MLB debut on July 22 in what was initially expected to be a spot start. However, he’s remained in the rotation and Saturday night was Ryan’s fourth start of his young career.
He entered 1-0 with a 1.33 ERA and 1.18 WHIP.
Ryan worked through some traffic in the outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates and had them scoreless in the fifth inning. But trouble arose on what ended up being his second-to-last pitch, a 97 mph fastball.
Ryan then threw 91 mph slider but still appeared to be feeling some discomfort. That prompted Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and head athletic trainer Thomas Albert to check on Ryan, who attempted to lobby his way into remaining in the game.
He wasn’t successful, and Alex Vesia took over with two outs in the fifth inning. Vesia immediately gave up a double before getting the Dodgers through the inning.
Ryan joined Brusdar Graterol as Dodgers pitchers to be removed in the middle of an at-bat this homestand. Graterol suffered a Grade 1 right hamstring strain in his 2024 debut, which was a relief as the initial expectation was he’d fully torn the muscle and was likely to miss the remainder of the season.
River Ryan’s forearm injury
The Dodgers announced Ryan was removed from the game because of right forearm tightness. He presumably will undergo an MRI, but the diagnosis thus far is certainly concerning.
His shaking of the right arm and hand suggested a potential elbow or forearm issue, but Ryan has recently been dealing with a minor blister. Albert did not look at Ryan’s right hand or fingers while speaking with him or in the dugout.
The Dodgers plan to place Ryan on the 15-day injured list and recall Landon Knack from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday.
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