CHICAGO — Hyun-Jin Ryu’s left shoulder was hurting Friday morning.
The good news: The pain is from a cortisone shot Ryu received Monday — not from whatever is causing the inflammation that knocked him out of his last start Sept. 12.
The bad news: Ryu hasn’t touched a baseball in seven days. He didn’t throw Friday and he might not pitch over the final eight games of the regular season. He missed three weeks with a similar injury in May.
“Overall I feel a lot better than at first,” Ryu said through his interpreter Friday. “I’ve been working out, obviously without throwing and hurting my shoulder further. It’s a good direction. I can’t really say when (I’ll be back).”
Ryu arrived in Chicago late Thursday after his original flight was delayed; the pitcher called it “a forgettable day.” Friday would have been more memorable if he’d begun throwing, but that wasn’t possible.
“The plan was to start my throwing program as soon as I feel good enough after my shot,” Ryu said, “and that’s not today.”
So, Ryu won’t start Monday against the San Francisco Giants. Dan Haren, who threw a bullpen session Friday, might start the game instead on an extra day’s rest.
Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw are lined up to start Tuesday and Wednesday against the Dodgers’ closest rivals. Giving Haren the start Monday would line up the Dodgers’ three best starting pitchers for their three biggest games remaining.
But manager Don Mattingly wasn’t ready to rule out Haren from starting against the Cubs on Sunday.
“(Saturday)’s game tells us what we do Sunday,” he said.
That could mean a patchwork of relief pitchers splitting the nine-inning task.
Ryu’s next turn in the rotation is scheduled for a week from today, at home against the Colorado Rockies, but Mattingly wouldn’t rule out shuffling the rotation if Ryu is ready sooner.
Right now, the safe bet is that Ryu won’t pitch again until the postseason, assuming the Dodgers can reach the National League Division Series.
Mattingly is OK with that.
“I think he’s earned it,” he said. “The fact that the way he works — he doesn’t throw the ‘pens in between (starts) — and just his routine is different than most guys’. When he says he’s good to go, he’s good to go. It’s easy to trust him because we’ve seen him be able to do it.
“He’s different in those aspects of the way that he works. It’s different than every other guy.”
Ryu is 14-7 with a 3.38 earned-run average this season. He ranks third on the team in wins and ERA, and is tied for third with 26 starts.
‘Not overthinking it’
Mattingly suggested that Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis’ two-homer game Friday was partially a result of better health.
“Probably over the last month and a half he’s been able to do the routine to get himself strong,” the manager said, citing Ellis’ arthroscopic knee surgery in April and his sprained ankle in May.
Ellis believes his problems are more mental than physical.
“Actually I’ve been hitting less,” he said. “I’m just not overthinking it, not trying to overanalyze it in the batting cage. Just trying to get loose. I’m trying to make good swings when it matters in the game.”
After Ellis had surgery, he blamed his torn meniscus on catching mechanics that placed extra pressure on his left knee. At the time he planned to change those mechanics; now he’s putting off the changes until after the season.
Ellis’ 2-for-4 game against the Cubs raised his batting average to .193.
“It felt good to contribute,” he said.
Also . . .
Pitcher Red Patterson, who was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for pitcher Scott Elbert, cleared waivers. … Dee Gordon’s 63rd stolen base tied Davey Lopes for fifth (1976) on the Dodgers’ all-time single season list. … Dodgers chairman Mark Walter is attending the series. He planned to take the team out to dinner after Friday’s game.