Red Sox rookie Tyler Samaniego had one thing on his mind during his stellar MLB debut.
Samaniego, who struck out the side in the eighth inning of Boston’s 5-0 win over the Brewers on Wednesday at Fenway Park, said he was thinking about his late father during his first big-league outing.
“I was thinking about my dad,” Samaniego told MLB.com after the game. “I lost him [at 65 years old] at the end of the ‘22 season, and he’s the one that introduced me to this game.”
While on the mound, Samaniego was seen sporting a glove with “Rip, Pops” stitched on its side.
“I know he was out there with me,” Samaniego said. “It was just awesome.”
The southpaw joined some rare Red Sox history in his debut, becoming the first pitcher since Don Aase in 1977 to record strikeouts for his first three career outs, ESPN reported.
“I probably can’t say it on the microphone, but he would be fired up,” Samaniego said on how his father might’ve reacted to his outing. “He would have been ready. He would have come out here behind the dugout and would have had a beer.”
Samaniego, 27, was called up from Triple-A Worcester just four hours before the Red Sox’s first pitch, and his family was unable to fly into Boston in time for his debut.
“It started off as a whirlwind,” he said. “I found out about like 9:30 this morning because we had the noon game in Worcester, so packed the locker up and headed straight here. It happened fast, but it’s been awesome.”
Before being called up on Wednesday, Samaniego held a 3.38 ERA for Worcester through 5⅓ innings of work.
Samaniego, who was originally drafted by the Pirates in the 15th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, was dealt to the Red Sox this past offseason in a trade involving right-hander Johan Oviedo being shipped off to Boston in exchange for top outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia and pitcher Jesus Travieso.
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