Carter Kieboom delivers home run in first major league game

Carter Kieboom made his debut with the Nationals a night to remember. He kept the Nationals in the game with a dramatic home run. In the ninth, he came close to giving them the shot to win it.

As he said before the game, three years ago he was in high school finishing an art project. Now he is in the big leagues, and delivering a big hit.

Kieboom went 1-for-4 with a home run and two strikeouts. He held his own on defense at shortstop.

The home run will be one to remember for a long time. With his team trailing in the bottom of the eighth, Kieboom launched a solo homer over the center field wall on a 1-1 pitch off Padres reliever Craig Stammen. His first major league hit was a home run and it tied the game at 3-3.

Kieboom got one more chance to play hero in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs and the bases loaded, Kieboom battled Padres closer Kirby Yates to a 2-2 count before swinging and missing at a splitter to end the game. The Padres held on for a 4-3 win.

"Talk about a whirlwind of emotions that was," Kieboom said. "I entered the game from an offensive standpoint just wanting to stick with an approach. I stuck with it all night. Worked out once. I went with an approach and that's what's worked for me and that's what I stuck with but it was an amazing night. It sucks that we lost.

"(Max) Scherzer pitched a heck of a game, put us in a great situation, gave us a great opportunity to win the game. We had it there in the end and just came up short, but that's the nature of the game sometimes and we'll be back at it tomorrow."

Scherzer made his major league debut almost 11 years ago to the day: April 29, 2008. Kieboom was 10. Tonight, the ace rebounded from an uneven performance on Saturday in Miami by allowing two runs on four hits over seven innings to give his club a shot to win the game. The veteran appreciated Kieboom's debut night in the bigs.

"Yeah, that's a heck of a ballgame for his debut, to go out there and his first hit being a solo shot, and tying the ballgame up in a big spot," Scherzer said. "He did great tonight. You know he's on cloud nine. In your debut game, everybody is. For him to not only to be in a debut game, to stay calm and collected in a big spot and hit a homer, that's awesome. Something he'll never forget."

The Nationals watched as their 2-0 lead evaporated and suddenly San Diego had a 3-2 advantage heading to the bottom of the eighth. Kieboom stepped in against former Nats reliever Stammen and delivered a dramatic solo shot to the deepest part of the park. It looked like center fielder Manuel Margot had a shot at the catch. But the ball was hit too well.

"I knew I hit it well, but the wind was howling in tonight," Kieboom said. "So it kind of depended upon where you hit the ball. He looked like he had a good read on it and he was about to catch it, but fortunately it just kept going over."

And then Kieboom got to enjoy another special moment: His teammates urged him toward the dugout steps for a curtain call from the 27,193 at Nats Park.

"I'm not sure I've ever even dreamed that, but that was unbelievable," Kieboom said. "That's like the cherry on top of anybody's call-up moment. That was real special. I really appreciate the fans for doing that."

So did his teammates push you toward the steps for the curtain call?

"They kind of tell you to get out there," Kieboom said. "You hear it and then the next pitch is coming, so I had to hold up a second. They encourage you. They made that a pretty special moment for me."

Despite the setback, manager Davey Martinez was thrilled for his new prospect making a statement in his first big league game.

"He had a good day," Martinez said. "Big moment there in the ninth inning, but he was very poised. He did well.

"I watched him. He was about the same as I've known him the last couple years, very poised, just was in tune to the game and knowing what was going on. We got a couple young players and just to listen to them talk about the game and make adjustments during the game, it's pretty impressive."

Looking back, it was impressive. It makes the evening even more impressive because Kieboom has played only 18 Triple-A games and just 62 last season in Double-A. Kieboom stepped onto the field at Nationals Park and not only looked the part, but delivered in his first major league contest.

"I definitely had some jitters going out there," Kieboom said. "I was real anxious. I wouldn't say nervous, but definitely anxious to get out there and be in that kind of environment. After I made my first play on defense, you do relax a little bit.

"When you get up to the plate (first at-bat), even though I struck out, I still felt better. The next at-bat, I just felt comfortable. You get those jitters out and at the end of the day it's still just a game. It's a game of baseball - there's just more people watching. That's all. There was no need for me to change anything I was trying to do out there just because there's more people watching. So I definitely had jitters at the beginning of the game. By the end of the game, I felt very comfortable. I felt like I belonged."

And who gets to keep that first home run ball?

"It's going to go to my parents' house. That way I don't lose it," Kieboom said with a smile.