3 years ago
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ANAHEIM ― On Aug. 9, 2013, the Boston Red Sox agreed to presumption with 4 prospects from Latin America. One was an infielder named Rafael Devers. Another was a 16-year-old left-handed pitcher from Venezuela, Jhonathan Diaz.
Diaz spent the adjacent 7 years successful the Red Sox organization, ne'er advancing beyond the Class-A level, sniffing a large league outpouring grooming crippled conscionable twice. Last November, the Angels signed Diaz arsenic a insignificant league escaped agent.
Already successful 2021, Diaz has fashioned a satisfying communicative arc retired of his formerly nondescript career. He pitched for Venezuela during the Olympic qualifying round. He excelled with the Angels’ Double-A affiliate upon his return, striking retired 78 batters successful 61 innings earlier receiving his archetypal promotion to Triple-A. On Friday, aft helium appeared successful conscionable 3 games with the Salt Lake Bees, Diaz was promoted to the large leagues for the archetypal time.
If the communicative of Diaz’s 2021 play ended there, it would beryllium a blessed one. Unfortunately, the Angels had to play a crippled Friday and they lost, 5-4, to the Oakland A’s, earlier an announced assemblage of 18,918 astatine Angel Stadium.
Diaz lasted conscionable 1⅔ innings successful his debut. He needed 50 pitches to discontinue 5 batters.
“I felt a small tense going into the game,” Diaz said done an interpreter. “As soon arsenic I threw the archetypal pitch, those nerves went away. I reached my beingness goal. Now I conscionable person to maintain.”
The left-hander deed the archetypal batter helium faced, Josh Harrison. He issued 2 walks earlier the archetypal inning ended, allowing the A’s to load the bases, but did not let a run. Chad Pinder and Matt Chapman swung and missed astatine a mates of mean two-strike sliders to extremity the threat.
The A’s besides loaded the bases successful the 2nd inning against Diaz. This clip they scored twice, connected an RBI azygous by Harrison and a sacrifice fly. Kyle Tyler relieved Diaz with 2 outs successful the 2nd inning and did not let different run, but Diaz was stuck with a 10.80 earned-run mean for his efforts.
Four days past his 25th birthday, Diaz’s debut was successful the books.
“I’m funny to spot him transportation again,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “I deliberation it’s going to look better. The hitters had immoderate atrocious swings connected him, helium was conscionable not getting the shot successful the portion often enough.”
The Angels rallied for 4 runs successful the bottommost of the 2nd inning against A’s starter Cole Irvin, the erstwhile Servite High School standout.
Kurt Suzuki homered. Luis Rengifo reached connected a fielding error, went to 3rd basal connected a Jack Mayfield single, and scored erstwhile Juan Lagares placed a beauteous compression bunt betwixt location sheet and the pitcher’s mound. Irvin hustled successful vain to marque a play astatine the plate, but could not tract the shot cleanly.
When David Fletcher dumped a azygous into near field, 2 much runs scored. Suddenly the Angels held a 4-2 lead.
But they could not scratch crossed different run. Irvin (10-13) allowed lone 2 much hits earlier departing aft six innings. He walked 1 batter and struck retired three.
Meanwhile, the Angels attempted to navigate a bullpen crippled with 4 pitchers who debuted this summertime (Diaz, Tyler, Jose Marte and Andrew Wantz), different 25-year-old lefty (Jose Quijada) and seasoned Steve Cishek. They astir pulled it off.
The A’s manufactured a tally successful the 3rd inning against Tyler, the archetypal he’s allowed successful 4 large league appearances.
Marte, successful his archetypal crippled backmost aft a 21-game enactment connected the COVID-19-related injured list, allowed 2 runs successful the sixth inning to enactment the A’s up for good.
The right-hander inherited a runner connected archetypal basal and looked rusty from the outset. He walked Mark Canha. He appeared to transverse up Angels catcher Kurt Suzuki, who was charged with a passed shot that sent Matt Olson to 3rd base.
An RBI groundout by Seth Brown, followed by a bases-loaded, four-pitch locomotion to Matt Chapman, plated the A’s 4th and 5th runs.
Angels pitchers issued 9 walks successful all.
“We mislaid the crippled based connected walks tonight,” Maddon said. “We out-played them each nighttime long. … I liked the mode we played.”
Diaz was the 63rd subordinate who has appeared successful a crippled this play for the Angels, a franchise record. (A 64th player, pitcher Dillon Peters, was recalled from Triple-A doubly but did not look successful a game.) Many of the Angels’ rookies were connected Maddon’s radar anterior to their archetypal call-up. Diaz was not.
Shohei Ohtani was primitively penciled successful arsenic the Angels’ starter Friday, but helium developed a sore elbow 2 days earlier. Diaz was the last-minute prime to capable in. With 15 games remaining successful the regular season, the Angels (72-75) mightiness person to upwind a fewer much rookie mistakes from their inexperienced roster.
“You’re going to spot antithetic guys get opportunities, but there’s nary little tendency to triumph the game,” Maddon said. “Overall we had immoderate truly bully pitching. Take distant the mates chaotic pitches by Marte and it’s a antithetic ballgame.”
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