KNIGHTS BLANK RAYS IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DEBUT
Eternal Baseball
TAMPA – Thousands of cellphones recorded the moment the Birmingham Knights took the field for their first-ever Major League Baseball game, and they showed they belonged with an impressive 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.
Birmingham starter Satchel Paige and Tampa starter David Price were locked in a pitchers’ duel, each twirling seven scoreless innings to keep the score knotted at zero. Tampa blinked first, as Knights third baseman Judy Johnson led off the eighth inning with a low liner off shortstop Logan Forsythe’s glove. It was scored an error and gave Birmingham just their fifth baserunner on the night.
Price induced a groundout from Buck Leonard and a flyout from leadoff man Willie Wells, but second baseman Martín Dihigo hammered Price’s first-pitch fastball deep into the night for a 347-foot two-run home run. Cleanup hitter Josh Gibson flew out to right field to end the threat.
Staked to a 2-0 lead, Knights skipper Rube Foster fetched the ball from Paige. Generally considered the best pitcher in Negro Leagues history, Paige turned in an impressive season debut: allowing just two hits in seven shutout innings, walking one batter while striking out eleven. Foster turned to his much-heralded bullpen and they did not disappoint: Smokey Joe Williams, John Donaldson and Jose Mendez each retired two batters to seal the victory. Louis Santop’s RBI single and an RBI double from Judy Johnson off Rays reliever Jake McGee accounted for the other scoring in Birmingham’s 4-0 victory over Tampa.
No season is won or lost in the pre-season, but it felt like an important win for the Knights. After fifty years of being denied the right to play scheduled games against Major League talent they made the most of their opportunity, winning not only their debut but against a divisional rival and talented opponent from the newly-created American League South.
Game two of this season-opening three-game set is Tuesday night at Tropicana Field – Tampa sends right-hander Charlie Morton to the mound to face Birmingham left-hander Dave Brown with a first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM EST.
Photo credit: Tampa Bay Rays 2017 by City of St. Pete
Recent Comments