Former Gorman ace breaks in with Padres
Former Bishop Gorman and College of Southern Nevada standout Donn Roach made his major league debut with the San Diego Padres Wednesday, facing seven batters against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It wasn’t exactly an auspicious debut — he was touched for base hits by the first three LA Dodgers he faced after coming on in the eighth inning of a game the Padres would lose 5-1.
But the kid — Roach actually is a young man of 24 — made it. Good for him. Great for him.
The right-handed pitcher made it despite being a 40th-round draft choice out of high school. (He later was picked in the third round by the Angels out of CSN in 2010.)
Roach spent most of last season at Double-A San Antonio, where he was 8-12 with a 3.53 ERA in 28 starts. He earned the gig as a Padres middle reliever during spring training, according to Bud Black, the San Diego skipper.
One may assume Roach must have been at least a little nervous making his major league debut.
One may also assume he must have settled down in the ninth, when, after allowing a leadoff single to Carl Crawford, he got Yasiel Puig to ground into a double play and Hanley Ramirez on a ground ball to third.
Last year, after watching him pitch sinker balls on the sidelines, former Padres ace Randy Jones said Roach reminded him of a right-handed Randy Jones.
A much younger right-handed Randy Jones.
