One game, two big league debuts: Hearing from Cortes and Araujo

In the span of three innings last night, the Orioles saw two Rule 5 pitchers make their major league debuts. And they did fine, as Nestor Cortes Jr. and Pedro Araujo combined to allow one run over three innings in the Orioles' 6-2 loss to Minnesota.

A 23-year-old lefty, Cortes pitched at three levels on the Yankees farm in 2017, reaching Triple-A. He went a combined 7-4 with a 2.06 ERA and was an Eastern League All-Star at Double-A Trenton.

He came on in the sixth, and two walks and a single later was staring, at a bases-loaded jam with no outs. But a strikeout and double play followed. He got out of that mess somehow.

"Real amped. I was happy to get out there and make my debut," Cortes said. "Yeah, I settled in. I got out of a good inning. I got myself into trouble, an infield out, went through the infield. Other than that, felt great."

He gave up a run on Joe Mauer's RBI single in the seventh. So over two frames, he allowed three hits and one run with two walks and two strikeouts. He threw 39 pitches and averaged 87 mph on his fastball.

"I felt like (it was) any other day, but obviously there's that tension where you're making your major league debut," Cortes said. "You want to do good. Other than that, I felt great. It's a beautiful ballpark. Coming in, I heard the crowd go wild - well not wild, roar for (me) when they called my name and when they said it was my major league debut. Kind of excited for that."

Cortes then stayed in the dugout to watch Araujo, the 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic, pitch a 1-2-3 top of the eighth. He got two groundouts and a strikeout.

"Oh, yeah. I stayed out there. I wanted to see his outing, support him," Cortes said of Araujo. "Threw a great inning. I was glad that everything came out good."

Araujo is making quite a jump to the majors. He pitched in the Single-A Carolina League last year in the Chicago Cubs organization. For Myrtle Beach, he went 6-1 with 10 saves and a 1.81 ERA.

"I felt very excited and with a lot of confidence in myself that I could go out there and do a good job," Araujo said through Orioles interpreter Ramón Alarcón.

"It's definitely very interesting," Araujo said of two pitchers making their major league debuts back-to-back. "I think there's been some trust that's been given to us and hopefully we can continue to earn more trust. Yes, I was very calm. I prepared myself mentally and physically for it."

You know what? Araujo did look pretty calm out there, averaging 92.4 mph on his fastball and throwing changeups with six of the 11 pitches he needed to get three outs.

A reporter asked Araujo if he could have imagined pitching in the majors so soon and doing well when he was in A-ball last year.

"I did, especially when I went to Wrigley Field as a fan to watch a game," he said. "I said to myself, I could be there, I could compete so hopefully a time comes when I am on the field."

That time came last night and Araujo, understandably so, had a big smile on his face after last night's game. Yes, the Orioles lost, but you can't blame the kid for being excited.

After all, he is making the leap from the Carolina League to the American League.

"No difference," he said when asked to compare the two leagues.

Well, the way he pitched in his first major league game, you can understand that he might feel that way.

For two young Orioles, amid the chill of Camden Yards, Saturday night was special.

Today, the Orioles and Twins play their series finale with each team at 1-1. Right-hander Kevin Gausman makes his season debut as the Orioles offense looks to get going. They have scored just five runs on eight hits through two games with 24 strikeouts and a team batting average of .125 (8-for-64). It would be nice to win their first series before they hit the road and take on the World Series winning Astros in Houston starting Monday night.