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Dodgers lose Hyun-Jin Ryu to shoulder injury, game to Giants, 9-0

Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu gave up five hits, a walk and four runs in one inning against the Giants on Friday night in their series opener.
(Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
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That 9-0 loss to the Giants on Friday night in the Dodgers’ biggest game of the year -- until Saturday -- certainly hurt. You could argue it was borderline embarrassing.

And the whipping on the scoreboard is still not what really hurt.

The biggest pain of the night was losing Hyun-Jin Ryu after one inning to what the Dodgers described as left shoulder irritation. And that’s potentially much larger trouble than the Giants cutting the Dodgers’ lead in the National League West to only one game.

Ryu went on the disabled list in May with shoulder irritation and missed more than three weeks. There are just more than two weeks left in the regular season. Ryu could potentially start three more times, and one would come at home against the Giants.

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But if the shoulder problem is similar to his previous injury, the Dodgers’ “Big Three” of Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Ryu will suddenly be reduced to two down the stretch.

If Ryu is out for any lengthy period of time, presumably rookie Carlos Frias would replace him in the rotation. Frias has started one game in his brief stint in the majors. He threw three innings Friday, surrendering a two-run homer to Brandon Crawford in the fifth.

The game at AT&T Park had long been over by then, the Dodgers unable to do anything with Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner (18-9).

The Giants batted around against Ryu in the first inning, scoring four times on five hits -- including three doubles -- and a walk. He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the second inning, and soon came news from the Dodgers that Ryu’s shoulder was barking again.

Entering Friday, Ryu had gone 5-1 with a 2.24 earned-run average in his last eight starts.

Between the game’s abysmal start and Ryu’s injury, all the air seemed to go out of the Dodgers in a hurry in the opener of a key three-game series. Bumgarner, of course, had a little something to do with that.

He threw seven scoreless innings, holding the Dodgers to three hits while walking two and striking out nine.

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The Giants have now won 10 consecutive home games.

The Dodgers went oh-so quietly, including Matt Kemp, who went hitless in four at-bats to snap his 16-game hitting streak.

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