THREE MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUTS IN THREE DAYS FOR THE DODGERS

The Dodgers dropped two of three games to the Nationals earlier this week, but that series still had its memorable moments, especially for the trio of Ricky Vanasco, Andy Pages, and Landon Knack, who made their major league debuts on consecutive days.

Up first was Vanasco, who pitched two perfect innings in relief on Monday, with one strikeout. Before that outing, the right-hander explained his mindset in finding success while pitching in relief since joining the Dodgers organization last June.

“I’ve been consistent in my work, and confident going out there every day knowing my stuff’s going to play no matter what, and just attacking the zone and attacking hitters,” Vanasco said Monday.

His wife and baby were at Dodger Stadium to watch his debut, as were his mom, mother-in-law, and agent. Vanasco was all smiles on Monday, and even again on Tuesday as he was packing his bags after getting optioned back to Triple-A.

Tuesday was the time for Andy Pages, who is going to get a runway of playing time in the outfield while Jason Heyward is on the injured list. It’s been a remarkable recovery from shoulder surgery last May, with Pages reaching the majors after only 16 games in Triple-A.

“He’s in as good a shape as he’s ever been, and put in a lot of work. It’s a pleasant surprise.” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday. “There’s a lot of hitters that hurt their lead arm, and it affects their swing considerably. So for him to rebound speaks to obviously how much commitment he put into the rehab process.”

Pages started in center field Tuesday and right field on Wednesday. He struck out in four of his seven at-bats, but got a highlight with a single in his first major league at-bat, swinging at the very first pitch he saw.

After the game, Pages said he plans to give the ball to his wife Alondra, who was at Dodger Stadium to watch.

In the series finale on Wednesday afternoon, it was Landon Knack’s turn to make his debut. He started out roughly, allowing a home run to the ever-present C.J. Abrams on his second pitch, part of a two-run first inning that required 28 pitches to finish.

But after a two-out walk in the opening frame, Knack retired his next 10 batters faced, settling into his start. After a leadoff single in the fifth, Knack induced a double play ball, one of six ground ball outs induced by the right-hander to go with his four strikeouts.

Knack got hung with the loss but still impressed with his five innings, limiting the Nationals to just those two runs. Dave Roberts said after the game that Knack would get another start next week.

“It was an amazing environment,” Knack said after the game. “Obviously, this is something you dream about from the time you’re little. Getting to get out here and be in front of the fans at Dodger Stadium and experiencing this was amazing.”

Concentrating three major league debuts in such a short time is quite rare. Perusing the long list of major league debuts for the Dodgers, the last time the team had three players made their MLB debuts on three straight days was in 1995 in a home series against Atlanta:

  • April 28: Right-hander Greg Hansell got the final two outs of the six inning in relief. He allowed a single but stranded both him and the inherited runner thanks to a strikeout to end the inning.
  • April 29: Right-hander Todd Williams pitched a perfect seventh inning in relief, getting three groundouts in an 11-pitch frame.
  • April 30: With Mike Piazza nursing a hamstring strain, the Dodgers signed Noe Muñoz out of the Mexican League for catching depth. Muñoz did not bat in his debut, but did catch the final inning in relief of Carlos Hernández.

It should be noted that in 2017, the Dodgers also had major league debuts in three consecutive games, but that was condensed even further thanks to a doubleheader at Petco Park in San Diego:

While it’s unlikely the Dodgers will have another major league debut on Friday night against the Mets, if they do it would be the busiest flurry of debuts for the team since a whopping five Dodgers made their major league debut over the span of two games on September 1-2, 1983 — outfielder R.J. Reynolds, first baseman Sid Bream, pitcher Orel Hershiser, third baseman Germán Rivera, and outfielder Cecil Espy.

During World War II, the 1946 Brooklyn team over the first six games of the season had five games with at least one debut. There were a total of nine new major leaguers during that span — Dick Whitman (no, not that one), Jack Graham, Carl Furillo, Ferrell Anderson, Hank Behrman, Bob Ramazzotti, John Corriden, Joe Hatten, and Otis Davis.

But it looks like the only time the Dodgers had four straight games with a major league debut — at least in the modern era, since 1901 — was in 1922 for Brooklyn. Shortstop Andy High played his first game on April 12, Bert Griffith pinch ran on April 13, pitcher Harry Shriver and catcher Bernie Hungling debuted on April 14, and pitcher Art Decatur debuted on April 15.

2024-04-19T12:18:07Z dg43tfdfdgfd