Blue Jays rookie Dallas says 'a little God wink' set stage for beating Braves in major league debut

ATLANTA (AP) — Chad Dallas was told on Tuesday he would be promoted for his major league debut with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The call came on Lou Gehrig Day, and it happened to be about a year since Dallas's father, Tony, died from ALS, the neurodegenerative disease now commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease in honor of the New York Yankees Hall of Famer.

“It was extremely special, like a little God wink,” Dallas said after allowing only two hits and one run in 3 2/3 innings to earn the win in the Blue Jays' 7-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night.

Dallas was promoted from Triple-A Buffalo to serve as the Blue Jays' bulk reliever behind opener Mason Fluharty.

Dallas immediately was given the opportunity to prove he could thrive in a stressful situation. The Braves had a runner on third base after Michael Harris II doubled and advanced to third before Toronto manager John Schneider pulled Fluharty and summoned Dallas, a right-hander.

Dallas entered the game with one out in the second and stranded Harris on third base. He ended the inning by striking out Sandy León.

“It was cool, though,” Dallas said of inheriting the runner on third when he is more accustomed to starting games. “It was something kind of new. And all you can do is go out there and just give them your best stuff. And you know tonight, I felt like I did that a good bit.”

Schneider said pitching out of the jam helped to ease the rookie's nerves.

“I think getting out of that inning there kind of set him up to settle down a little bit,” said Schneider of Dallas. “And he was great, man. You know, gets his first win in his debut. So pretty cool. Breaking stuff was really, really good and did his part tonight.”

Dallas said he had “tons of emotions” as the anticipation grew for his major league debut. He had friends and family travel from Orange, Texas, and Knoxville, Tennessee, where he pitched in college for Tennessee.

“Dreamed of this day since I was 3 or 4, once I started realizing what professional baseball was,” Dallas said. “And tons of emotions ... tons of happy, super excited. But overall, it was an amazing experience.”

Dallas was only 0-3 with a 4.50 ERA at Buffalo in his comeback after missing the 2025 season following Tommy John surgery. But the right-hander made an impression on Schneider while perhaps proving he could help the Blue Jays as a reliever when there is no longer a need for another starter.