Just past 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Hyun-Jin Ryu rose from his seat inside the Dodgers bullpen and climbed atop a mound. A pitcher warming up should not sound an alarm. But these are strange times for the pitching staff of the Dodgers.
Earlier in the afternoon, hours before a 7-3 victory over St. Louis, manager Dave Roberts outlined Ryu’s isolation on the roster. Squeezed out of the rotation, Ryu had yet to transition into a role in the bullpen. Roberts could not say when Ryu would pitch again. Yet as Thursday’s fourth inning unfolded, an opening appeared.