It has been a long road to the major leagues for Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Taylor Rashi.
It all paid off on Thursday as the 29-year-old made his debut in spectacular fashion, pitching three scoreless innings against the MLB-leading Milwaukee Brewers to earn a save in Arizona’s 6-4 win.
Like his career path, it did not come easy. With a crowd of more than 35,000 standing and cheering, Christian Yelich, who came on as a pinch-hitter, made his way to the plate with two runners on and two outs in the ninth inning, representing the winning run.
Photo: AP
After some tense moments, Rashi got Yelich to ground out to end the game.
“It was cool. It was a lot,” said Rashi, who toiled in the minors for six years before getting the call-up. “I wasn’t really nervous until I got on the mound. I think the nerves set in a little bit there. I was a little bit shaky today. Not my normal self, but you’ve got to find a way.”
Having to face Yelich only added to the drama for Rashi, who arrived in Milwaukee a day earlier from Triple-A Reno.
“I told myself if you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best, and he’s one of the best hitters in the game,” Rahsi said.
Rashi faced a bit of adversity as soon as he came on in the seventh inning. Two runners reached, but he struck out Andrew Vaughn swinging and caught Isaac Collins looking to end the inning.
Teammates greeted Rashi with a boisterous celebration in the clubhouse.
“It’s a story of perseverance and believing,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said.
Rashi said doubt began to set in at times, especially when dealing with injuries.
“It’s been hard,” he said. “There were times there going through rehab where I said I don’t know if this is worth it, but this made it all worth it.”
Lovullo said the Diamondbacks’ bullpen had few fresh arms, so he turned to Rashi.
“Basically, everybody was down in the bullpen,” he said. “On a day when we needed it most, he blocked all that out. To me, he was oblivious to what was going on around him. He just made pitches and got a massive, massive save for us. He just happened to get their best player to get the final out and he didn’t blink. At that point, it was his game to win or lose.”
Lovullo broke into a smile when talking about Rashi’s day.
“It’s an organizational success story,” he said. “You’ve got a group of coaches in Triple-A who were pounding the table for him. You’ve got player development staff pounding the table for him, and he comes up here and does his job. It’s a great moment for the organization and for him.”
In Philadelphia, Kyle Schwarber hit four home runs in the Phillies 19-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves to become the fourth Phillies player and 21st major leaguer to accomplish the feat.
Schwarber was four for six with a Phillies-record nine RBIs. He took the outright National League homer lead with a career-high 49 and moved within one of Seattle’s Cal Raleigh for the major league lead. Schwarber leads the majors with a career-high 119 RBIs.
Mike Schmidt was the last Philadelphia player to hit four homers in a game, at the Chicago Cubs in April 1976.
Elsewhere, the Giants downed the Cubs 4-3, the Astros edged the Rockies 4-3, the Red Sox overcame the Orioles 3-2, the Cardinals sank the Pirates 4-1, the Yankees walloped the White Sox 10-4 and the Marlins mastered the Mets 7-4.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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