SAN FRANCISCO -- Los Angeles Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu is doubtful for his next scheduled start and will fly back to Los Angeles on Monday for an MRI exam, manager Don Mattingly said.
Ryu left Friday night's start against the second-place San Francisco Giants after one inning because of left shoulder irritation. If he can't go, Ryu will be replaced in the Dodgers' rotation by rookie Carlos Frias, who likely will make his second major league start Wednesday in Colorado.
The loss of Ryu could be a major blow to the Dodgers, who had banked heavily on their three top starting pitchers for the final three weeks of the season. The Dodgers have no open dates between now and their next meeting with the Giants, so Frias likely would have to pitch in that series at Dodger Stadium as well.
"If he's out, somebody else has to pick it up," Mattingly said. "It's kind of what the [Los Angeles] Angels did when [Garrett] Richards went down. Everybody thought it was the end of the world and, all of a sudden, they've been on fire without him."
The Giants batted around while scoring four runs on five hits in the first inning Friday. Chris Perez replaced Ryu to start the second inning of what would become a 9-0 rout at the hands of their NL West rivals.
Ryu was examined by team orthopedist Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Saturday. The 27-year-old said it felt similar to the injury that kept him on the disabled list from April 28 to May 21 with shoulder inflammation.
"It's a little bit of everything, stiffness and pain," Ryu said through an interpreter.
The Dodgers lined up Ryu, Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw to pitch 11 of the team's final 16 games, including all six against the Giants, but this could scramble those plans. Ryu was 14-6 with a 3.16 ERA going into Friday's game. He also spent time on the DL this season with a right hip strain.
Frias is 0-0 with a 3.91 ERA in 11 appearances, including one start.
The Dodgers reinstated left-handed reliever Paco Rodriguez from the 15-day disabled list. He had been out since Aug. 4 with a strained muscle in his upper back.