The Wright stuff
By Roch Kubatko
SARASOTA, Fla. - Manager Buck Showalter didn't bring Mike Wright here to serve only as an extra arm late in a split-squad game.
Wright, the third-round pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of East Carolina, replaced Luis Ayala to begin the fourth inning tonight and faced Mark Teixeira, Raul Ibanez and Bill Hall.
So much for mop-up duty.
Wright struck out Teixeira and Hall and retired Ibanez on a pop up. His fastball registered 92-93 mph.
He wasn't done. Showalter kept him in the game for the fifth inning, and Wright retired Justin Maxwell on a ground ball, gave up a single to Dewayne Wise and struck out Gustavo Molina. With Brett Gardner batting, catcher Matt Wieters picked off Wise at second base.
Wright, who pitched for the rookie-level Gulf Coast team, short-season Single-A Aberdeen and Single-A Delmarva last summer, had a small cheering section in front of the press box. We're assuming his father was the one filming Wright on his phone.
Good stuff. And the Wright stuff.
LATEST ORIOLES NEWS
LATEST NATIONALS NEWS
About the author
By accepting you will be accessing a service provided by a third-party external to https://www.masnsports.com/