Dodgers’ Dave Roberts Explains Decision to Pull River Ryan in Sixth Inning

The Los Angeles Dodgers avoided the sweep against the Houston Astros on Sunday with a 6-2 victory. While the victory was convincing, thanks to some insurance runs in the eighth and ninth innings, it was far from a win before the eighth inning.

The Dodgers led most of the game but were in a tough bind when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts took out starting rookie pitcher River Ryan after 5.2 innings of work. Ryan had his best outing in his short career, and Roberts made the tough decision to pull them out, and that decision almost bit the Dodgers in the butt.

Luckily, that wasn’t the case; however, fans weren’t happy with the call. After the game, Roberts spoke with the media, including Kirsten Watson of SportsNet L.A. Roberts explained his decision to pull Ryan in the sixth inning of the contest.

“It was good to see him use that four-pitch mix effectively,” Roberts said. “We pushed him. I don’t think he’s gone more than 74 pitches in his professional career. He was in a good spot, and I thought he left it out there. He gave us all he had.”

It was a questionable call to pull Ryan, and it immediately backfired as his replacement out of the bullpen, Alex Vesia , gave up a home run to left center to take the game from 3-0 Dodgers, to 3-2.

It didn’t hurt the Dodgers in the long run, and Ryan was great. He gave up one run on two hits and walked three while also recording a career-high eight strikeouts.

“Unbelievable, it’s something you work for your whole life pitching in the big leagues,” Ryan said about his first win . “Fortunately, I was able to come out with a W today.”

Roberts finished his press conference by saying that Ryan would stick around in the majors for a bit, and how could he not after two incredible starts to begin his major league career?

Photo Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

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