© Stan Szeto | 2019 Aug 27
Tyler Rogers waited a long time to earn a call-up to the major leagues and make his MLB debut.
After being drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 10th round of the 2013 draft and playing in 342 minor league games across seven seasons, he was ready to see if his quirky delivery and minor league success would translate to the next level.
Both did, and the 28-year-old rookie — once given a chance — didn’t have to wait very long to find out.
The Giants were down 3-1 and on the way to being swept for a second time in their last three series. Reyes Moronta and Sam Coonrod had just given up two runs, and the Giants needed a shutdown inning.
Bruce Bochy handed Rogers the ball in the eighth, and while a moment like that might be too big for many rookies making their MLB debuts, the lights weren’t too bright for Rogers.
He threw 11 pitches, nine of them strikes, and none of them resulted in a hit for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Prior to the 3-2 loss, Bruce Bochy said he primarily intended to use Rogers against right-handed hitters, but he let him go for an entire inning rather than only facing the two righties who were due up in the frame. He faced three hitters, only two of them were righties, but all three results were the same, and Rogers was equally effective against all of them.
Adam Jones grounded out, Nick Ahmed grounded out and Alex Avila grounded out.
“These guys, you don’t see a lot of them, so they can be tough,” Bochy said of Rogers’ strong outing and unique delivery. “But he gets a lot of movement and keeps the ball down. He gets outs. That’s what it’s about.”
It may have taken 342 minor league appearances for Rogers to get the call, but it only took one major league appearance to make a strong impact and leave a lasting impression.
Not only did Rogers have a dream debut, but he also accomplished something historic. With his call-up today he became one-half of just the 10th set of twins to both make it to the major leagues. His brother, Taylor Rogers, watched as his brother tossed his 1-2-3 inning with many of his teammates in the Minnesota Twins’ clubhouse.
Great moment for Taylor watching Tyler make his MLB debut! ? pic.twitter.com/qcVV10kMkd
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 28, 2019
The two brothers both pitched tonight, they both recorded 1-2-3 scoreless innings, and they did it within minutes of each other.
“That’s a pretty cool feat in itself right there, for twin brothers to pitch at the same time in the big leagues, that’s pretty cool,” Tyler said.
Three hitters, three outs, one fantastic MLB debut that was worth the wait.
“It was everything I thought it would be and more,” Rogers said.