Matt Wieters starts – Luke Scott stars
The storybook opening to Matt Wieters’ Major League career didn’t quite materialize last night, but the Orioles still got the win. Luke Scott saw to that.
MLB.com helpfully published a list of the opening performances by several great catchers, which firmly puts Wieters’ hitless debut in perspective. Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter and Craig Biggio’s careers weren’t exactly hampered by a hitless start, so no need to panic about the Orioles’ young star living up to the hype just yet.
There was so much pressure on Wieters’ shoulders, from the expectant home crowd to the pressure the young catcher was putting on himself, that the Tigers did the sensible thing and tested him right out of the box. Wieters dashed out from behind the plate, fielded the bunted ball cleanly and threw the runner out with a minimum of fuss.
Test number one was passed with aplomb.
The home crowd would have loved to see that defensive play followed up by a big hit from their new star, but the hits came from a less-heralded player. Luke Scott has been swinging the bat well over the last few days and he briefly took the attention away from the new boy by belting two bombs, one of which went for a grand slam.
The Orioles also got a look at another part of their future thanks to a solid outing by rookie pitcher Brad Bergeson. His eight-inning effort played a significant part in Baltimore’s 7-2 win.
Yet it was still Wieters’ name that was on everyone’s lips after the game and it will be again tonight as he looks to get his first Major League hit off Justin Verlander.
There’s a contest I can’t wait to see.
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