Mike Carp wasn’t the only major leaguer to try out a new position Thursday night.
Shortly after the Red Sox utility man made his debut on the mound in Boston’s blowout loss to the New York Yankees, the San Diego Padres called upon pitcher Andrew Cashner — and his exquisite mullet — to play left field in extra innings of a game against the Washington Nationals.
The game was not a blowout — in fact, it was tied at the time — but since it was being played under National League rules, Padres manager Bud Black was placed in a tough spot when left fielder Seth Smith went down with an injury in the top of the 11th.
Black wanted to wait a batter before replacing pitcher Tim Stauffer with a double switch, so he opted to send Cashner — a starter who had last pitched Monday — out to left to begin the bottom of the inning. He was out there for just one batter (Jayson Werth lined out to Stauffer to lead off the frame) before being lifted for a real outfielder, Tommy Medica, but Cashner looked pretty pleased with his performance when he returned to the dugout.
The Padres ended their night on a high note, too, as Xavier Nady singled home Jedd Gyorko in the top of the 12th to give San Diego a 4-3 win.
Check out the Cashner’s first taste of life as a position player in the video below.
[mlbvideo id=”32362939″ width=”640″ height=”358″ /]
