Phil Dumatrait Gets His First Win
May 8, 2008
Phil Dumatrait Gets His First Win
Filed under: Pirates, NL Central, Pittsburgh
I’m gonna let you in on a secret: despite my rough, cynical, blogger exterior, I occasionally feel happy for baseball players. I particularly have a soft spot for guys that spend lots of years toiling in the minors, only to eventually find some modicum of big league success. I’m not talking back from the dead or anything, just things like Phil Dumatrait picking up his first big league win with the Pirates tonight.
Back in 2000, the Red Sox picked Dumatrait in the first round with the 22nd pick. In 2003 he was traded to the Reds and he promptly blew out his arm, missing all of 2004 and delaying his debut until late last season. He didn’t pitch very well with the Reds and on September 9th, he actually gave up three homers in a row to start a game against the Brewers. After the season was over, he was placed on waivers by the Reds and claimed the Pirates. Ouch.
He managed to make the Pittsburgh squad as a reliever, but he’s recently moved into the rotation with the release of Matt Morris. I’d be lying to you if I said expectations were high, but tonight Dumatrait tossed 5 and 2/3 scoreless innings against the Giants and the Pirates held a slim lead to pick up his first career win. And yeah, it was against the Giants, but it doesn’t count any less. If you look hard enough beyond the steroids and alleged statutory rape and blow-up sex toys, every once in a while there’s a guy worth being happy for.
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