The Los Angeles Dodgers welcomed Hyun-Jin Ryu back to the mound on Saturday for his first start in a live game since July 7, 2016. Since undergoing an arthroscopic left elbow debridement last September, Ryu had been limited to bullpen sessions and live batting practice.
He received consideration to start Wednesday, March 1 against the San Francisco Giants in a night game at Scottsdale Stadium, but the nod instead went to Scott Kazmir. Ryu was then said to be suffering from tightness in his adductor muscle.
He threw a bullpen session and live BP without issue, which led to Saturday’s debut. Ryu pitched the expected two innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.
While the results were encouraging, Ryu didn’t put much stock in the outing, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“I feel great right now,” Ryu said through an interpreter. “This is the first game, I don’t want to put too much meaning into it, I just want to be ready for the opening of the season.”
The 29-year-old added he’s going to take a start-by-start approach as he competes to earn a spot in the Dodgers’ Opening Day rotation:
“Just like the first time here, I’m obviously competing for a spot,” Ryu said. “I have a few more games, and if I focus on each game at a time, I’m sure good results will follow.”
Ryu previously expressed a belief he was capable of joining the Dodgers out of Spring Training in large part due to his improved health from a year ago. The left-hander won 14 games in each of his first two seasons with the Dodgers, going a combined 28-15 with a 3.17 ERA from 2013-14.
However, shoulder and elbow injuries limited him to just one start in the past two seasons. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not yet reveal if or when Ryu will make another Cactus League start. Roberts did say the club intends to remain cautious in their handling of Ryu.
