HOUSTON — River Ryan has often found himself in unfamiliar waters.
Circumstances and mounting Los Angeles Dodgers injuries hastened Ryan’s arrival to the big leagues. He was a shortstop who’d hardly pitched when the Dodgers traded a designated-for-assignment bench bat for him two springs ago. A shoulder injury slowed his development by a few months this spring, yet he still made it to the major leagues by July as one of the premier pitching prospects in the sport.
Ryan had never thrown more than 75 pitches in a professional outing. He’d never thrown a pitch in the sixth inning until his major-league debut last week.
But as Ryan crossed into new territory Sunday afternoon, blowing a slider past Houston Astros outfielder Joey Loperfido on his 77th pitch to complete the fifth inning, Dave Roberts extended his rope. If the dazzling prospect is going to be something meaningful for the Dodgers this fall, they will have to see what exactly that looks like.
So, Roberts said, “We pushed him.”
Manager Dave Roberts takes the ball from River Ryan, who ventured into new territory with 77 pitches. (Tim Warner / Getty Images)
Ryan went out for the sixth. When Jose Altuve thumped a leadoff double, lefty reliever Alex Vesia started to warm. But after the right-hander retired the next two hitters — including left-handed-hitting slugger Yordan Alvarez — Roberts sprung from the dugout. He had just three relievers available Sunday afternoon and would need all three. With Ryan’s pitch count hitting 91, Roberts said, “For me to push him much more than that, I think it would’ve been irresponsible.” Vesia’s first pitch to Yainer Diaz was deposited in the seats for a two-run homer to get the Astros within a run.
The brush with catastrophe was fleeting. The Dodgers would extend their advantage and avoid a sweep in Houston with a 6-2 win — Ryan’s first as a big leaguer.
“Unbelievable,” Ryan said. “It’s something you work for your whole life.”
He allowed one run in his 5 2/3 innings while demonstrating exactly what makes him so promising. His fastball topped out at 98 mph. He deftly used his slider and curveball to extinguish stressful situations. He didn’t allow a hit through four innings and managed to carry his velocity even as the start went deeper than he’d ever gone.
“Man,” Astros manager Joe Espada said, “that’s a pretty live arm.”
There is a delicate dance the Dodgers have tried to navigate with their pitchers this summer. They’ve worked to recognize how much to extend this group of talented unknowns, as well as the consequences. Less than 24 hours earlier, Roberts pulled rookie left-hander Justin Wrobleski in a near-identical spot — two outs in the fifth, with traffic and Diaz due up — and watched his former closer Evan Phillips surrender four consecutive hits as part of a full-on collapse.
Sunday tilted in a similar direction. Diaz’s blast off Vesia cut the lead to 3-2, sounding alarms again about a bullpen that has taken on the biggest workload in the majors this month.
The Dodgers’ pitching woes have had a cascading effect on their deadline needs. They seek impact starting pitching to address a rotation that has been hit hard by injury (though Yoshinobu Yamamoto is expected to throw a bullpen next week) and underperformance (Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller have struggled, including in their recent rehab outings in the minors).
The Dodgers have been delicate when using their effective rookie replacements — only the Pirates have a better ERA from their rookie starters this year than the Dodgers’ 3.04 mark.
“It came a lot earlier (than expected),” Roberts said. “Credit to them that they were ready. … The way they’re throwing, performance should matter, and it does especially this time of the year.”
That usage has also torched their bullpen. Vesia surrendered the home run on an 89.9 mph fastball, by far his slowest of the season. Roberts didn’t shoot down the idea that there might be something ailing Vesia, who has quickly reemerged as one of the Dodgers’ most valuable relievers over the past months.
Which makes adding at Tuesday’s trade deadline all the more important. And it makes it all the more interesting to parse out where talented arms like Ryan fit in. The Dodgers need starters. They need relief help. More than anything, they need pleasant surprises. Ryan may very well be one.
(Photo of River Ryan: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
