Los Angeles Dodgers’ Hyun-jin Ryu pulled with shoulder irritation

In the midst of a battle for the National League West crown, both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants need all hands on deck in the season’s final weeks. However, on Friday night, skipper Don Mattingly‘s club not only lost a game, but lost a major asset – for a length of time that remains unclear.

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Dodgers left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu left Friday’s loss to the Giants after just an inning of work with shoulder irritation that he described as “very similar” to the shoulder injury that led to a near-monthlong trip to the disabled list back in May.

In that lone inning, it quickly became clear that Ryu was not 100 percent, as he allowed San Francisco to bat around, plating four runs while regularly sitting in the upper-80s with his fastball. According to MLB.com, of the 17 fastballs he threw in the 27-pitch first inning, just one broke the 90 mph threshold. Mattingly told MLB.com that the injury was obviously a concern for the club moving forward.

"“There are games you see him 88-89 [mph], but as the game goes on, he adds on to that,” said Mattingly, who said a shoulder issue with “one of our top guys” is a concern at any point in the season."

Ryu had seemingly hit his stride prior to the injury, going 5-1 in his last eight starts with an impressive 2.24 ERA. On the season, the 27-year-old South Korea native is 14-7 with a 3.38 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. Should he remain in the Los Angeles rotation for the remainder of the regular season, he would likely make three starts – one of which would come at Dodger Stadium against the Giants. With the two teams separated by just one game, every contest – especially those where the two clubs are pitted against one another – are crucially important. MLB.com reported that on Friday, he said mild discomfort quickly worsened three batters into the contest.

"Ryu said he had “a little pain, a little stiffness” that he first noticed in pregame warmups, which he said was not unusual. But it worsened when he faced the third hitter of the game, Buster Posey, who doubled in the first run."

Including his rough outing Friday night, Ryu is 2-2 with a 7.31 earned run average against the Giants this season. He’s also allowed 23 hits in just 16 innings of work as San Francisco hitters are batting .319 against the lefty, as well. His second start of the year came against the Giants and the left-hander was hit hard in two innings of work, allowing six runs on eight hits. Failing to pitch into the fifth inning just three times this year in his 26 starts, two of those outings have come against Bruce Bochy‘s club.

According to the Los Angeles Times, should Ryu head back to the DL, rookie Carlos Frias will likely make starts in his place. Frias pitched three innings on Friday, allowing a two-run home run to Brandon Crawford. In 21 games – including 20 starts – this season between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Albuquerque, the 24-year-old right-hander is 10-5 with a 4.58 earned run average. He pitched to the tune of a 3.38 ERA before his promotion to the organization’s highest-level affiliate, but had struggled since then, posting a 5.01 mark.

In 11 games with the big league club this season, Frias has limited opposing batters to a .206 mark at the plate, which is a large factor in his impressive 0.96 WHIP across 25 1/3 innings of work.