Hyun-Jin Ryu Rocked in Return, Padres Shutout Dodgers 6-0

It was over after the first batter.

Hyun –Jin Ryu served up six runs in his highly anticipated return to the Major Leagues and the San Diego Padres defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-0 on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.

Melvin Upton Jr. greeted Ryu back to the big leagues with a solo shot in his first at-bat of the game—the first time in his career that Ryu allowed a leadoff homer--and the second leadoff home run by Upton this season.  

"They made good swings tonight so give them credit," said Dodgers' catcher A.J. Ellis who caught Ryu. "Regardless of outcome, it was great to see him out there on the mound."

The game marked Ryu's first trip back to the mound since he pitched game three of the NLDS series in St. Louis on Oct. 6 2014.

"I'm so excited just to see him out there on the mound. He's somebody I developed a great pitcher-catcher rapport with," Ellis added. "I'm proud of him. He looked comparable to where he was before. A little rust and fatigue, but a lot to be encouraged by."

Entering the game he had the lowest ERA 0.84 against the Padres, but the Korean left-hander was knocked around as his fastball velocity continued to decline after each inning he pitched.

"Of course my velocity is a little down from before," Ryu said through a translator. "I think after a few games I'll get better at it. Overall I felt great. My shoulder felt fine."

Ryu allowed six runs on eight hits with two walks and four strikeouts in 4 and 2/3 innings of work.

"He's a big game pitcher and pitched in many playoff games for us," continued Ellis. "We have so much depth and quality pitchers in are rotation now."

Carlos Frias, who was activated by the Dodgers on Thursday, and pitched a career-high four innings of scoreless relief in his first MLB action of 2016.

"For our bullpen to get a reset and get a day was good to see," Roberts said of Frias. "We haven't decided which direction we're going to go, but we're going to send someone down and a position player will be coming back."

Drew Pomeranz threw a two-hitter for his eighth win of the season, striking out six over seven strong innings of work.

"Pomeranz got us earlier this year," Roberts said of his former pitcher. "He's had a really nice first half and baserunners were hard to come by tonight and we really couldn't get any momentum."

Pomeranz (8-7) helped his own cause with an RBI single in the second inning and the Padres were able to chase Ryu from the game with three runs in the fifth thanks to back-to-back doubles by Matt Kemp and Yangervis Solarte followed by a triple by Alex Dickerson.

Dickerson recorded the first multi-hit game of his career, going 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI.

The Dodgers dropped their third straight game, and their offense was shut out, after a six-hour marathon game the day before.

"We have three more games left before the All-Star break," added Roberts. "We expect to win all three of those games."

Corey Seager went 0-for-4 and saw his career-high 19-game hitting streak snapped at the hands of San Diego. Seager's streak was the second longest by a rookie in franchise history as the 22-year-old rookie fell one game shy of Tommy Davis' record of 20 games.

Players of the Game:

Drew Pomeranz:  No runs on two hits with six strikeouts in 7.0 IP.
Melvin Upton Jr.: Leadoff home run.
Alex Dickerson: 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI.

Three Takeaways:

1. Oh Snap: Corey Seager finished 0-for-4 and struck out looking in his final at-bat as the rookie's 19-game hitting streak was snapped. The streak was the longest in the National League this season and the second longest by a rookie in Dodgers' franchise history as he fell one shy of tying Tommy Davs' 20-game streak in 1960.

.@coreyseager_5's hit streak ends at 19. 0-4 tonight with 2 SO. — Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) July 8, 2016

2. Pitchers at the Plate: The difference in the game could very well have come down to who batted better at the plate between starting pitchers Hyun-Jin Ryu and Drew Pomeranz. Pomeranz came to the plate in the second inning with runners on first and second and two outs. The Padres pitcher promptly hit an RBI single up the middle to give the Padres a 2-0 lead. Ryu came up with runners at first and second and two outs in the bottom half of the second and weakly grounded out to Pomeranz. 

Drew Pomeranz hit a floating curve for a two-out, two-out RBI single. — Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) July 8, 2016

3. Over 2 Million Served: With 44,759 fans in attendance at Dodger Stadium, the team surpassed the two-million mark in total attendance for 2016. The Dodgers lead the league in total attendance and average attendance and could eclipse the 4 million mark if things continue. 

With 44,759 in attendance to watch the return of Hyun-Jin Ryu, the #Dodgers eclipsed the 2 million mark in total attendance for 2016. — Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) July 8, 2016

Up Next:

Padres (38-48): Andrew Cashner gets the call on Friday night for San Diego.

Dodgers (48-40): Scott Kazmir gets the start at 7:10 PM PST.