Ryan looked great in his debut and the Tigers hit three home runs in win
River Ryan finally got to make his debut as a Detroit Tiger (74-83) and he made the most of the start. Ryan pitched three strong innings and the offense hit three homers in a 9-2 win over the Washington Nationals (73-84).
Ryan hadn’t pitched in the Major Leagues since 2024 due to Tommy John surgery. Then due to being on the Los Angeles Dodgers, making it back and in the starting rotation was tough.
Then, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers as part of the Tarik Skubal deal at this year’s trade deadline. He was injured when the trade transpired, but he finally got his first start as a Tiger.
He looks great in the Motor City.
Ryan worked 3 innings, allowed two hits, no runs, one walk, and struck out three batters on 43 pitches. It was a chilly night in Detroit, and I am sure they watched the pitch count closely. He used all six of his pitches and hit 98 mph with his fastball.
Hao-Yu Lee also had a great night; he got the Tigers on the board early in the first inning. Lee hit a double that scored Gleyber Torres and also later scored after a single by Eduardo Valencia and gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Lee and Valencia each had three hits in the game.
Javy Baez hit a 426 foot two-run blast in the fourth inning, scoring Dillon Dingler.
That home run signaled the end of the night for Nationals starter DJ Herz. He lasted 4 innings, gave up five hits, four earned runs, two walks, and four strikeouts.
The Tigers were not done hitting home runs, hitting two in the fifth inning. Ben Malgeri added a three-run shot scoring Riley Greene and Valencia and Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run blast that scored Dingler, making the score 9-0.
Yohandy Morales prevented the Nationals from being shutout. Morales hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, scoring James Wood, and getting it to the final score 9-2.
Beau Brieske pitched the ninth inning and retired the side in order to end the game with a Tiger victory.
