Dodgers' Ryu to return after 21 months
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Ryu Hun-jin, center, is seen training at Dodgers Stadium, Monday (local time), ahead of his match against the San Diego Padres, Thursday. / Yonhap
By Baek Byung-yeul
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin will return to Major League Baseball, Thursday, following successful rehabilitation from shoulder surgery last year, the team’s manager said Monday (local time).
Before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts announced Ryu would start Thursday in the opening game of a four-game series against the San Diego Padres, saying “after talking through things with Ryu and the guys upstairs, we have decided we are going to start him on Thursday.”
“So far what I have accomplished as far as my rehab goal ― gaining all my pitches back in just a few outings ― I think I’m pretty much ready to go,” Ryu said through his interpreter before Monday’s game.
The 29-year-old lefty last pitched for his team in Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014 and missed the entire 2015 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder in May of last year.
Ryu made his eight minor league rehab starts this year, posting a 4.23 ERA in 27 2/3 innings. In his latest game for the Dodgers’ Class-A affiliate the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes on Friday, he threw a solid six innings, allowing two runs and five hits. While throwing 84 pitches, he kept his fastball velocity around 90 mph.
If he starts the game, Thursday, it will be his first time on a major league mound in 640 days. Before his injury, Ryu started against the Padres five times and went 4-0 with a 0.84 ERA while throwing 32 1/3 innings.
Ryu’s return will definitely be good for the Dodgers as they are missing their ace Clayton Kershaw who was recently placed on the disabled list with a mild herniated disc in his lower back.
After spending an illustrious seven-year career with the Hanwha Eagles in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Ryu joined the Dodgers for the 2013 season and quickly established himself as one of the team’s top starting pitchers behind Kershaw.
In his debut season, the southpaw recorded 14 wins and eight losses with a 3.00 ERA and finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting, collecting 10 third-place votes. He also did well in his second season in 2014, recording 14 wins and seven losses with a 3.38 ERA.