In his first major-league appearance, Buck Farmer didn’t have quite the Hollywood finish, but it wasn’t bad.
After getting called up from the Detroit Tigers’ double-A farm team to make an emergency appearance with the big club Wednesday night, the former Georgia Tech ace pitched five innings but did not receive a decision in the Tigers’ 8-4 win over Pittsburgh before a sellout crowd at Detroit’s Comerica Park.
"My childhood dream became real tonight," Farmer told MLB.com following the game.
Farmer did not allow the Pirates a hit in his first trip through the lineup but then gave up five hits and four runs the next time through. He rallied to retire five of the final six batters he faced.
His final line: five innings, six hits, four runs (all earned), one walk, four strikes, one home run allowed. He threw 83 pitches, 57 for strikes.
“I thought he did a good job,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “He mixed his breaking stuff and his changeup more than we anticipated.”
Following the game, Farmer was optioned to the Tigers' triple-A team in Toledo, Ohio, according to MLive. In the big picture, it's a progression. Farmer is in his first full season of professional baseball and was with Detroit's single-A team through July before getting promoted in August to double-A to prepare him for a possible emergency call to Detroit.
“It’s a step up,” Farmer told MLive after the game. “It was surreal coming here and getting an opportunity, but going to Toledo, that’s awesome, too.
According to MLive, he became the first Tigers player to pitch for the team’s single-A team in West Michigan and the Tigers in the same season, excluding players on injury rehab assignments.
“To be where I am now, I definitely wasn’t expecting it,” Farmer said.
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