Jon Jay makes most of first career start

Jon Jay has played in a state championship game in high school and in the College World Series while at Miami. Neither compared to what Jay felt like Friday night when he made his first start in the major leagues.

Jay, called up to the big leagues for the first time Monday, started in right field and batted second against the Cincinnati Reds. He had made three pinch-hit appearances this week but saw his name written in manager Tony La Russa’s lineup card for the first time when he got to the park Friday afternoon.

“I think every day when I am starting, no matter where I am at, you get a little nervous,” Jay said. “The butterflies, the competitive feeling…But I just have to remember that it’s baseball and go out there and do my thing.

“Obviously nothing can compare to the big leagues but I know I have been able to perform on that stage before and just having that in the back of my mind, obviously this is a new thing for me, it’s the big leagues, but I have the same mind frame and the same confidence that I’ll be able to be successful. “

Jay did his thing in the top of the second inning, catching a fly ball off the bat of Jonny Gomes and firing home to nail Jay Bruce at the plate. Bruce had tagged up and tried to score, but the left-handed throwing Jay threw a strike to catcher Yadier Molina, who blocked the plate perfectly and applied the tag to end the inning.

Jay then hit a ground-rule double down the left-field line in the third inning for his first major league hit. He had been 0-for-4 to start his major league career, counting a ground out in the first inning, before taking an outside pitch the opposite way to left and bouncing it off the foul line and into the stands.

Ushers informed the fan who caught the ball that it was Jay’s first major league hit and he agreed to give the ball back to Jay.

It’s been a week to remember for Jay, who was called up Monday and made his major league debut by pinch-hitting against the Braves’ Tim Hudson less than an hour after arriving at the ballpark. After starting the year at Triple A Memphis with a 16-game hitting streak, Jay is still having a hard time believing he is in the majors.

But now that’s he here, Jay hopes to stay as long as possible.

“It’s just one of those things where I take it day to day,” Jay said. “I think every day I am going to get a little bit smarter. I have great teammates and great coaches here and I just have to lean on them a little bit but at the same time, do my work in the film room and the cage and all that stuff. Every day I am adapting and I’m starting to feel more comfortable every day.

“I think it’s been fine. Just trying to find my way around and stay quiet and listen and see how guys go about their business here. I’m just trying to learn every day.”



(baseball-news-update.com)