River Ryan shines in Detroit debut as Tigers power past Nationals 9-2

Acquired in the Tarik Skubal trade, River Ryan threw three scoreless innings Monday while Detroit homered three times against Washington.

River Ryan made an immediate impression in his first appearance for Detroit, throwing three scoreless innings against Washington on Monday night. The right-hander, who came over from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Tarik Skubal trade, gave up two hits and one walk while striking out two. Keider Montero followed with four scoreless frames to improve to 10-9.

The Tigers jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning. Gleyber Torres walked, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Hao-Yu Lee's ground-rule double. Eduardo Valencia then singled home Lee, with the run scoring after James Wood misplayed the ball for an error.

Javier Báez extended the lead with a fourth-inning home run, his third of the season, scoring Dillon Dingler. Detroit broke the game open with five runs in the fifth, highlighted by Ben Malgeri's fourth homer of the year and Spencer Torkelson's 25th, a two-run shot that made it 9-0.

Washington got on the board in the eighth on Yohandy Morales' two-run homer. Nationals starter DJ Herz, making his first big league appearance in nearly two years after Tommy John surgery in April 2025, allowed four runs over four innings and fell to 0-1.

Before the game, the Tigers announced that Comerica Park will be renamed Fifth Third Park beginning in 2027 as part of a bank merger. The clubs continue their three-game series Tuesday, with Detroit's Drew Anderson (5-6, 3.62 ERA) set to face Washington left-hander Jackson Kent (1-4, 6.40). Ryan is expected to start Sunday's season finale.