The Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation has already been bit by the injury bug, with both Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill beginning the season on the 10-day injured list.
Hyun-Jin Ryu got his first career Opening Day start in their absence and looked good in his first two outings of the season. He last took the mound for his third start of the year against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, but did not last long.
The left-hander was forced to leave the game in just the second inning with an injury and was later diagnosed with a groin strain. Ryu said he was just removed for precautionary reasons and didn’t think the injury was all that serious, but he was still placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday.
It did not take long for Ryu to get back to throwing, however, as according to Jeff Jones of MLB.com, he threw on flat ground on Wednesday and will do so again before getting off a mound:
Ryu threw on flat ground on Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis as he tested his groin. He’s likely to repeat that test on Friday while simulating his delivery before moving to throw on a slope.
“I just talked to him, [and] he said he feels good,” Roberts said. “[He] could have done more as far as exerted more, but just wanted to be cautious.”
Ryu missed 91 games due to a torn groin last season, so it was obviously a big concern for the Dodgers when he was forced to leave his outing because of another groin issue.
If all goes well when Ryu throws again on Friday and in a subsequent bullpen session, he could be activated at some point next week.
