Eagles' Ryu Hyun-jin scratched from start due to arm discomfort

The Hanwha Eagles' pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin was scratched from his start Friday evening against the Samsung Lions because of left arm discomfort.

Ryu had been scheduled to take the mound at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, some 240 kilometers southeast of Seoul, but the Eagles replaced him about an hour before the 6:30 p.m. first pitch.

In Ryu's stead, right-hander Kim Kyu-yeon, who had been pitching in relief all season, made his first career start.

The Eagles did not provide further details on Ryu's condition, other than that the 37-year-old experienced some discomfort in his pitching arm.

While with the Toronto Blue Jays, Ryu had Tommy John elbow surgery in June 2022, and missed the rest of the 2022 season and the early part of the 2023 season.

Ryu is in his second tour of duty with the Eagles. He first pitched for the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club from 2006 to 2012, and won both the regular season MVP and the Rookie of the Year awards in his first season.

After a dominant seven-season stretch, Ryu took his talent to Major League Baseball (MLB) before the 2013 season, by signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He led MLB in earned run average (ERA) and finished second in the National League Cy Young Award voting in 2019.

Ryu went on to for the Blue Jays from 2020 to 2023, and then reunited with the Eagles in February on an eight-year deal worth 17 billion won ($12.3 million).

Ryu got off to a sluggish start to his first KBO season in a dozen years, and carried a 5.21 ERA into May. He has settled down of late, holding opponents to just three earned runs over his past 17 innings. Overall, he has a 4.50 ERA and a 3-4 record after 11 starts.

The Eagles came into Friday's game on a five-game winning streak. Three of those wins came after manager Choi Won-ho resigned to take the fall for the club's tumble down the standings.

The Eagles were in first place after the first week of the season in late March but had fallen to eighth place among 10 clubs by the time Choi stepped down. They are currently in seventh place. (Yonhap)