Twelve years after being drafted No. 1 overall by the San Diego Padres in the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft, Matt Bush made his MLB debut Friday night after being called up by the Texas Rangers.
And his first big league inning couldn’t have gone much better.
The right-hander entered the game in the top of the ninth inning, and he retired the heart of the Toronto Blue Jays’ lineup — Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion — in order in the Rangers’ 5-0 loss.
“Nice to see Matt Bush become a big leaguer tonight,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said, via ESPN.com. “Very composed. … He faced good hitters, the heart of their lineup. So I’m very proud of what Matt Bush did tonight.”
It’s been a long and bumpy road for Bush, who originally was drafted as a shortstop in 2004. The once-promising prospect had multiple run-ins with the law, including a drunken incident that landed him in jail for three years.
But he received another chance Friday, and he made the most of it on Day 1.
Thumbnail photo via Jim Cowsert/USA TODAY Sports Images
