CLEVELAND — Watching Hyun Jin Ryu lay on the field writhing in pain on Monday night was a tough sight to absorb. The context behind it was simply undeniable.
Firstly, you don’t want ever see a player go down. But this stung more because of what the left-hander had gone through to even get back to a major-league mound.
Ryu returned last week to make his first major-league start following Tommy John surgery. That followed a span of 426 days that included going under the knife, rest, recovery and plenty of rehab.
He pitched decent enough in that outing against the Orioles, but on Monday at Progressive Field, the starter was in dominant form. He pounded the strike zone, pitched to contact and induced plenty of soft contact from Cleveland Guardians hitters.
Everything changed in a flash, though, when Oscar Gonzalez lined a comebacker in the fourth inning that appeared to hit Ryu on the inside of his right knee. The ball ricocheted and Ryu chased it down, fielded it and made the throw to first to end the inning. Then, he immediately fell to the ground and clutched his knee.
Ryu was removed from the game with a right knee contusion, an event that put a damper on the Blue Jays’ 3-1 win over the Guardians in the opener of a four-game set. Cavan Biggio opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the eighth inning in what stood up as the game-winner.
It remains to be seen how the injury will impact Ryu and if it will cause him to miss time, but again, the context here is important.
One on hand, Ryu rejoining the Blue Jays last week prompted the team to turn to a six-man rotation, a boost to a staff that was navigating a stretch of 17 games in 17 days.
On the other hand, Ryu joins a list of injured Blue Jays that has grown alarmingly over the past few weeks.
The club rolled through the first half of the season as the relative picture of perfect health. That was extremely unlikely to continue throughout the entire campaign, though, and reality hit quickly.
To that end, there was some good news on the injury front Monday, with Blue Jays manager John Schneider offering a slew of updates to media prior to the game:
• Kevin Kiermaier, who received eight stitches on his right elbow following a collision with the outfield fence at Fenway Park on Sunday, is with the Blue Jays in Cleveland, but is considered day-to-day.
• Shortstop Bo Bichette, in Toronto as he recovers from right patellar tendinitis, is playing catch and working through strengthening exercises, but has not hit yet. The hope is that he’ll do so within the next few days, according to Schneider. Hitting — and eventually running — are the final tests for Bichette to clear before a return from the injured list. “Feeling better every day, which is a good thing,” said Schneider.
• Closer Jordan Romano (lower back) threw a bullpen session at Rogers Centre on Monday and will be re-evaluated on Tuesday. At that point the club will determine if the right-hander requires a rehab stint before rejoining the Blue Jays. Fellow right-hander Trevor Richards (neck) is still playing catch.
• Right-hander Chad Green (Tommy John surgery) is slated to throw one-to-two innings Tuesday with the Buffalo Bisons. It will mark his third appearance with the triple-A club during his rehab stint and the goal is for the veteran to be able to pitch on consecutive days before an eventual call up. However, Schneider said the club could pivot from that plan if Green deems himself good to go.
Of course, injuries are out of the control of a team. And the way Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams was throwing on Monday, it looked like there was nothing the Blue Jays’ lineup could do. The rookie allowed just one hit and one walk over his seven scoreless innings, striking out a whopping 12 hitters and inducing 17 whiffs.
Enyel De Los Santos took over for Williams and opened the eighth by getting Matt Chapman to fly out. Daulton Varsho singled and Biggio followed that by launching a 1-1 changeup from the right-hander 415 feet into the right-centre field stands to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead.
Biggio then took matters into his own hands in the bottom of the frame, when with one out and the tying run on third base, he fielded a chopper to second from the speedy Steven Kwan and alertly raced to touch first for an unassisted inning-ending double play.
George Springer added an RBI single in the ninth inning and six Blue Jays relievers combined to allow one run over five innings.
