Rangers' infielder Rosales pitches an inning for second time in 2015
No team likes to make a position player take the mound and pitch, but no team likes wasting relievers in a blowout defeat either.
That's why Texas Rangers utilityman Adam Rosales pitched an inning in the Rangers' 21-5 defeat at the hands of the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
Rosales navigated the top of the ninth inning after a host of Ranger pitchers didn't get the job done all night. Rosales allowed a home run to Brett Gardner, but also racked up a highlight by striking out Chris Young. As pointed out by MLB.com's Cody Stavenhagen, Rosales became the second position player in Rangers club history to pitch twice in the same season - the first being Jeff Kunkel, who did it in 1988 and 1989.
Here's video footage of Rosales' inning on Tuesday:
When asked about his approach on the mound by Stavenhagen, Rosales replied with a response so simple it's almost brilliant: "I was just trying to get three quick outs, just put the ball over the plate."
However, Rosales used more than just a flat fastball: he mixed in a splitter he had worked on developing: "I threw it in the bullpen. It looked like it was decent, like it was moving good. But you have to have a pretty good fastball to back that up, I think."
