LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu exited the game in the third inning Saturday after taking a liner off his left arm from Giants second baseman Joe Panik. The team announced his injury as a forearm contusion.
Ryu was still able to make the throw to first to get Panik out, but immediately bent over in pain following the play and was looked at by the Dodgers' athletic training staff and manager Dave Roberts. Panik's liner had a 93.9 mph exit velocity according to Statcast™. Right-hander Thomas Stripling replaced Ryu in the Dodgers' 2-1 loss to the Giants and finished the third inning.
With seven games left in the season, the Dodgers were planning to get another look at Ryu for a postseason tryout, but his injury-shortened start put a damper on those plans.
"Thought he was throwing the ball well," Roberts said after the game. "It's a good thing [X-rays were] negative and we'll see tomorrow how he responds to treatment."
The southpaw might not fit into the Dodgers' postseason rotation plans and they have already put two rotation arms, Kenta Maeda and Brandon McCarthy, into the bullpen.
Ryu's injury turned into an opportunity for the Dodgers' crowded pitching staff to audition for a postseason spot. McCarthy pitched three innings of relief Saturday, allowing one run.
And before the game, Roberts said rookie Walker Buehler was still in the mix for a postseason spot but wanted to see the hard-throwing right-hander in a high-leverage situation. Down, 2-0, heading to the eighth, Buehler got the call.
The righty gave up back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases, giving Roberts a chance to see Buehler in a high-stakes spot. The 23-year-old responded by striking out Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford and inducing a groundout from Kelby Tomlinson to get an inning-ending double play.

Mission accomplished for Buehler.
"Role? Not my call," Buehler said. "One of those things, just trying to get experience and get my feet wet. If that happens, great; if not, it's been a good ride here. I just want to contribute any way I can in any situation they put me in."
As for Ryu, Roberts said this outing hasn't changed anything for his postseason fate.
"I'm definitely looking for a starting spot in the postseason," Ryu said through an interpreter. "But with the injury I have now, things might change. But my job is to work on recovering and get back on the mound and do what I can do."