Ryu Hyun-jin finishes four perfect innings in rehab start

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin has kicked off his rehab assignments in three months to hopefully make a comeback to the big league.

The South Korean left-hander took the mound as a starter and pitched four shutout innings for the Dodgers’ Advanced A affiliate, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, against Lake Elsinore Storm (under San Diego Padres), in Rancho Cucamonga, California on Thursday night (local time). While holding the opponents to two singles, Ryu scored four strikeouts. Also, with the highest speed of his pitch logging 145 km/h, he did not let any hitter walk to the first base. Out of his 47 pitches, 34 of them, which accounts for 72.3 percent, were struck into the strike zone.

This was the first time that Ryu stepped onto the mound since he suffered a groin strain on May 3 in a start against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rancho Cucamonga beat the Lake Elsinore 8-2 on Friday.


Bo-Mi Im bom@donga.com