LOS ANGELES — Monday afternoon, River Ryan officially became a major-league player when he was called up by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Monday night, he proved he belonged in the big leagues.

Ryan, a UNC Pembroke alumnus, produced a strong performance on the mound, pitching into the sixth inning of his debut without allowing an earned run. Ryan earned a no-decision as the Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 3-2.

“It was great,” Ryan told the assembled media in the locker room after the game. “There was definitely a lot of emotions, up and downs all day, but I spent some time with the Lord earlier today, definitely prayed when I got on the mound, and that helped me calm my nerves. But yeah, it was an experience for sure.”

Ryan became the 23,277th player all-time to appear in a major-league game, according to Baseball Reference. He is UNCP’s first MLB player since Ben Callahan, who made four pitching appearances for the Oakland Athletics in 1983.

Ryan allowed four hits and one unearned run, with three walks and two strikeouts, in 5 1/3 innings. He earned rave reviews from his teammates and manager after the game.

“He was really good,” said All-Star catcher Will Smith, who caught every pitch of Ryan’s outing. “His command of the baseball, attacking guys. I know he was a little nervous before the game, but he settled right in after that first inning, and gave us 5 1/3 innings, and I thought it was really good.”

“I thought he was very efficient,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He was attacking, I love that.”

Jorge Soler, once a World Series MVP, was the first batter Ryan faced in the majors. Soler walked and LaMonte Wade Jr. singled to start the game, but Soler was thrown out at third base on the single, and Ryan retired the next two batters through the air to pitch a scoreless first inning.

“Even watching after that (first) inning, there wasn’t a whole lot of emotion,” Roberts said. “Composure, poise and (he) just kept going, and those are little things I try to watch.

Ryan retired the side in order in both the second and third innings, including his first big-league strikeout, a called third strike to Tyler Fitzgerald.

“I just tried to stick to the same approach that I’ve been doing all year, and for my whole career, versus righties and lefties,” Ryan said. “I talked to Will (Smith) before the game, and (pitching coach Mark) Prior, but we got the game plan down and just stuck to it.”

Wade scored in the fourth when a ball four to Matt Chapman ticked off Smith’s glove for a passed ball, giving the Giants a 1-0 lead. But Ryan escaped the inning with no further damage by striking out Yastrzemski.

“Even when we had the ball that got by Will to score the first run, the only run, he composed himself really well and got (an out) to end the inning,” Roberts said. “For me, I was really impressed.”

The Dodgers tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth when Teoscar Hernandez hit a solo home run. Ryan once again went three up, three down in the fifth.

Ryan was sent back out for the sixth inning despite having never pitched more than five innings in any of his 53 minor-league starts; the move came as Ryan had an efficient pitch count of 64 to that point. Two of the first three batters in the sixth singled, bringing Ryan to 73 pitches, close to his career high of 75, and the Dodgers made the move to the bullpen. Reliever Alex Vesia retired the next two batters to keep the score tied and ensure Ryan a no-decision.

When Ryan was taken out of the game, he received a standing ovation from many of the 49,576 fans at Dodger Stadium.

“It was great,” he said. “The ground starts to shake a little bit when everybody gets loud, but yeah, that was fun to be a part of.”

That crowd included several family members made the trip to Los Angeles to witness Ryan’s debut, including his parents and his brother, Ryder Ryan, who reached the major leagues last year with the Seattle Mariners and is currently at AAA in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. UNCP coach Paul O’Neil was also in attendance Monday.

“It was definitely, truly a blessing to have all of them make it out,” River Ryan said. “Their support has been unbelievable throughout my entire career, starting when I was little. I’m extremely happy they were able to make it here.”

Hernandez had all three Dodgers RBIs in the game, and gave his team the lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, before Daniel Hudson pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the save.

Indications after Monday’s game seemed to be that Ryan will remain with the big-league club and make another start for the Dodgers in the next turn through the starting rotation.

“That’s the thought right now, yeah,” Roberts said. “He’s not going anywhere tonight. It’s day to day, but I think for him the message is just to plan for making the start with us.”

Ryan’s next start would likely come Saturday or Sunday as the Dodgers play a weekend series at the Houston Astros.