Angels rookie Carlos Perez will 'never forget' walk-off HR that beat Mariners
Carlos Perez did something in his debut Tuesday night that few people have done before -- he hit a walk-off home run.
The last major leaguer to hit a walk-off in his major league debut is Miguel Cabrera, and he turned out to be pretty good.
Entering Tuesday, Cabrera was one of just three players to accomplish such a feat. That list has now expanded to four thanks to the heroics of Angels rookie catcher. Perez's walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Angels to a 5-4 win over Seattle.
It just might be the infusion the lineup needs to get going this season. The Angels had just three come-from-behind wins thus far and hadn't shown the ability to rally late in games. Tuesday night, when the Angels found themselves down 4-2 in the eighth, they responded with two runs on consecutive RBI singles by Erick Aybar and Johnny Giavotella.
It was all tied up when Perez led off the bottom of the ninth, sending the Angel Stadium crowd home happy with a solo shot to left field.
#Angels set #Guinness World Record for sixth straight year, via @RHaylock. http://t.co/KCR68oWLpn #MLB pic.twitter.com/KEVXKJccES
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) May 6, 2015
Afterwards, he was at a loss for words.
"I can't explain," Perez said. "(It's) my first game and to finish like that was (one to) never forget."
The Angels' rookie had bookend hits on the night, reaching on a single in his first career at-bat to go along with the aforementioned home run to go 2-for-4, becoming the first Angels catcher to have two or more hits in his debut. Before getting the call-up, Perez was hitting .361 in Triple-A Salt Lake.
Mike Scioscia also was pleased with the job he did behind the plate. It was a busy night as he attempted to block Richards' pitches in the dirt. The Angels starter had three wild pitches on the night -- two of which allowed runners to advance 90 feet but none wound up scoring.
"I saw a catcher block a couple that looked unblockable and a couple that were unblockable that he got a piece of," Scioscia said of Perez. "Garrett's not an easy catch and when that slider is in the dirt, you really have to get down and he did."
Asked what was harder to do, hit a walk-off home run or catch Richards, Perez called it a push.
"I think both are tough," he said.
Tuesday night, however, he made this baseball thing look fairly easy.
