Diamondbacks reliever Rashi shines in long-awaited MLB debut with save against MLB-best Brewers

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MILWAUKEE (AP) —

It’s been a long road to the major leagues for Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Taylor Rashi.

On Thursday, it all paid off as the 29-year-old made his debut in spectacular fashion, pitching three scoreless innings against the MLB-leading Milwaukee Brewers to earn a save in Arizona's 6-4 win.

And, like his career path, it didn’t come easy. With a crowd of more than 35,000 standing and cheering, Christian Yelich, who came on as a pinch-hitter, made his way to the plate with two runners on and two outs in the ninth, representing the winning run.

After some tense moments, Rashi got Yelich to ground out to end the game.

“It was cool. It was a lot,” said Rashi, who toiled in the minors for six years before getting the call-up. “I wasn’t really nervous until I got on the mound. I think the nerves set in a little bit there. I was a little bit shaky today. Not my normal self, but you’ve got to find a way.”

And having to face Yelich only added to the drama for Rashi, who arrived in Milwaukee a day earlier from Triple-A Reno.

“I told myself if you want to be the best you’ve got to beat the best and he’s one of the best hitters in the game,” Rahsi said.

Rashi faced a bit of adversity as soon as he came on in the seventh. Two runners reached, but he struck out Andrew Vaughn swinging and caught Isaac Collins looking to end the inning.

Teammates greeted Rashi with a boisterous celebration in the clubhouse.

“It’s a story of perseverance and believing,” manager Torey Lovullo said.

Rashi said doubt began to set in at times, especially when dealing with injuries.

“It’s been hard,” he said. “There were times there going through rehab where I said I don’t know if this is worth it. But this made it all worth it.”

Lovullo said the Diamondbacks' bullpen had few fresh arms on Thursday, so he turned to Rashi.

“Basically, everybody was down in the bullpen,” he said. “On a day when we needed it most, he blocked all that out. To me, he was oblivious to what was going on around him. He just made pitches and got a massive, massive save for us. He just happened to get their best player to get the final out and he didn’t blink. At that point, it was his game to win our lose.”

Lovullo broke into a smile when talking about Rashi’s day.

“It’s an organizational success story,” he said. “You’ve got a group of coaches in Triple-A who were pounding the table for him. You’ve got player development staff pounding the table for him. And he comes up here and does his job. It’s a great moment for the organization and for him.”

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