As River Ryan handed the ball to manager Dave Roberts in the top of the sixth inning Monday night and headed toward the third-base dugout, the crowd of 49,576 at Dodger Stadium rose to its feet and applauded the 25-year-old right-hander, who slapped his chest in appreciation of the gesture.
Regardless of what happened after he was removed with the game tied, runners on first and third and one out, it was clear from the crowd’s reaction and the high-fives and handshakes Ryan received in the dugout that his major league debut was a success.
“When everyone is so loud, the ground starts to shake a little bit,” Ryan said of the standing ovation. “It was really fun to be a part of.”
Teoscar Hernandez added to the chaos at Chavez Lavine by singled to center field with two outs in the eighth inning to score the third run of the game and lead the Dodgers to a 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
With the score tied at 2-2 in the eighth inning, Kiké Hernández doubled on a fly ball that landed on the warning track between center fielder Elliot Ramos and left fielder Luis Matos to score the first run of the game.
Giants left-hander Eric Miller struck out Shohei Ohtani but walked Will Smith, and shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald made a great diving stop on Freddie Freeman’s grounder to center field, shoveling the ball with his glove to second baseman Brett Wisely for the second out.
San Francisco manager Bob Melvin brought in right-hander Randy Rodriguez to face Teoscar Hernandez, who smashed a 2-2 fastball on the outside corner into center field, driving in Kiké Hernandez for a 3-2 lead, giving Teoscar his 67th RBI of the season, 27 of which came with two outs.
Daniel Hudson pitched nine scoreless innings, striking out two of the four batters he faced to earn his seventh save and help the Dodgers extend their winning streak to four.
“He’s great,” Roberts said of Teoscar Hernandez. “Like I’ve said all year, he’s going to go for the RBI, he’s going to put a batter on second base and he’s going to score. That ball was 98 mph and he hit it under and outside. He didn’t try to put in a lot of effort. He just tried to get the hit. That’s how you win baseball games.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts congratulated pitcher River Ryan after a strong performance in his major league debut against the Giants.
(Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Having a starting pitcher like Ryan perform well gives you an advantage. Ryan gave up one run on four hits in 5 1/3 innings, struck out two and walked three in the no-decision game, making it the longest start by a Dodgers pitcher since Tyler Glasnow went six innings on July 5.
Ryan was drafted by San Diego in 2021 as a two-way player but gave up his shortstop position after the Dodgers acquired him in a trade for utility player Matt Beatty in the spring of 2022. He had never gone beyond the sixth inning in 45 minor league starts, but he faced three batters in the sixth inning on Monday night.
Ryan used a six-pitch combination, led by a brisk fastball that averaged 96.1 mph and topped out at 98.4 mph, to keep the first inning scoreless despite walking Jorge Soler and allowing a single to LaMonte Wade Jr. early in the game.
San Francisco scored its only run against Ryan in the fourth inning on a passed ball by Smith, and then, with runners on second and third, Ryan struck out Mike Yastrzemski with a 95 mph cut fastball to end the inning.
Left-hander Alex Bethea relieved Ryan in the sixth inning, getting the runners on first and third with runners on first and third by striking out Matos with a 91 mph fastball and Matt Chapman with a 93 mph fastball.
“He was in control of the ball and he was attacking guys,” Smith said of Ryan. “I know he was a little nervous before the game, but he quickly settled down after the first inning and pitched five and a third innings, which was really good.”
Ryan, the younger brother of Pittsburgh relief pitcher Ryder Ryan, is just the third rookie starter (excluding Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto) to pitch well for the Dodgers after making his major league debut this season, joining Landon Knack and Justin Wroblewski.
“The rookies have been huge,” Roberts said of the rookies’ contributions. “They’ve allowed us to continue to win and at the same time, it’s given our guys an opportunity to get experience. It’s the best of both worlds and a lot of times you don’t get that opportunity.”
Ryan’s stay with the Dodgers is expected to be short this week with Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw coming off the injured list, but he’s likely to make at least one more start.
“That’s the mindset right now,” Roberts said. “We’re not going anywhere tonight. Every day is different, but the message for him is to have a plan in place going into our next game.”
Teoscar Hernández had three of the team’s six hits, the first of which was a 411-foot hit off a down-in slider from Giants left-hander Blake Snell into the left field stands for his 21st career home run, a solo homer that tied the score at 1-1 going into the bottom of the fourth inning.
Teoscar Hernandez runs on the bases after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning of the Dodgers’ 3-2 win over the Giants on Monday.
(Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning when Freeman walked with two outs, advanced to second on a wild pitch by Snell and scored on a single to center field by Teoscar Hernandez.
San Francisco tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the seventh inning when Fitzgerald hit a solo home run to left-center field off left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, but Teoscar Hernandez fought back again in the eighth inning.
“Earlier in the season, I didn’t do very well with runners in scoring position,” said Hernandez, who has seven hits in 17 at-bats and two home runs since winning the All-Star Game Home Run Derby on July 15. “I think it was because I was trying to do too much, overswinging, trying to cover all the bases.”
“Right now it’s more about having a plan and executing it the way I want to and sticking with it even if I don’t get the job done. … I try not to put too much pressure on myself and stay calm. I like having those at-bats. I like being in those situations.”
Short Hop
Roberts said Miguel Rojas, who was replaced in the fourth inning of Sunday’s game with right forearm tightness – an injury caused by swinging a heavy bat with one hand during the All-Star break – is expected to return to the lineup Wednesday night. … Bobby Miller, who pitched five scoreless innings with three hits, four strikeouts and four walks for Oklahoma City on Saturday, is expected to make at least one more start at Triple-A before being considered for a return to the Dodgers’ starting rotation. … Reliever Ryan Brasier (right calf tightness) will face batters at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday and begin his rehabilitation program in Oklahoma City on Saturday.