Ryu Hyun-jin's No-Hit Outing Cut Short Due to Injury

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays pitched outstandingly in an away game against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday until he was forced to leave the mound after being struck on the knee by a batted ball.

Ryu threw four no-hit, shutout innings, allowing just one walk with two strikeouts.

The Blue Jays won the game 3-1.

Ryu underwent a 14-month rehabilitation after elbow surgery in June last year. He returned to the mound on Aug. 1 in a game against the Baltimore Orioles, who are currently in first place in the American League East. In the game, he allowed nine hits including a home run and four runs in five innings. 

But in his second start back against the Guardians, he looked like a completely different pitcher.

MLB.com said, "His velocity was still below where it needs to be, his fastball averaging just 88.8 mph, but his locations were precise and Ryu's changeup -- the most important pitch in all of this -- was missing bats again."

Ryu said, "My command was much better tonight than my last outing, especially with my changeup. I was locating it right where I wanted. It seemed to work really well for me."

In Monday's outing he achieved another milestone in his Major League Baseball career, exceeding 900 strikeouts to end the game with 901.

However, in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs, he was struck by a batted ball hit by Oscar Gonzalez. The ball ricocheted off his right knee, but he immediately picked up the ball and threw Gonzales out at first base. Then he fell to the ground, complaining of severe pain, and was replaced in the fifth inning. There was initially concern that he had suffered a serious injury, but it turned out to be a contusion.

Ryu was originally scheduled to start against the Chicago Cubs in a home game on Sunday, but it may be pushed back.