As Major League Baseball comes into its final weekend before the All-Star break, three former Aggies made appearances on the mound Friday night, two of which did not have their most ideal outings.
In Houston, rookie Daniel Mengden returned to his hometown to start for the Oakland Athletics while playing with over 100 family members and friends in attendance. However, Mengden did not have the homecoming he may have hoped for.
After giving up a 2-run homer to Carlos Correa in the fourth inning, Mengden faced a scary moment after he took a 100 mph line drive from Carlos Gomez to the chest. Training staff members quickly rushed to tend to Mendgen, who was still able to field the ball and throw Gomez out at first and despite the incident remained in the game.
“I think it was one of those things that scared me more than it hurt,” Mengden told MLB.com after the game. “Maybe it affected me, maybe it didn’t, I don’t know. I just wasn’t making good pitches and executing.”
An inning later, Mengden was unable to bounce back from his hit to the chest and surrendered four singles and three runs before being pulled. He finished the night pitching 4.2 innings while giving up six runs on six hits and striking out six batters in a no decision. Despite the effort, The Astros won 10-9 on a walk-off three-run home run by Luis Valbuena.
“I thought he was really good, just kind of lost his command a little bit right after he got hit in the chest,” A’s catcher Stephen Vogt told MLB.com. “He’s a tough kid for staying out there.”
In Milwaukee, Michael Wacha got the nod for the St. Louis Cardinals on the road, but was also cut short in his outing in a similar fashion to Mengden.
After giving up three scattered runs on five hits over six innings, Wacha took a 103 mph liner from Jonathan Villar off his heel in the bottom of the seventh inning which made him leave the game. He finished the game with 6.2 innings giving up three runs on five hits while striking out eight batters in a no decision.
Wacha, who officially suffered a bruised right heel, has been listed day-to-day by Cardinals officials following the game. Wacha told that MLB.com that felt as if he could have kept going following the hit.
“My foot went completely numb once it hit, but the more I moved it around the more I kind of flexed it around, the feeling came back and I was able to put all my pressure on it out there on the field,” Wacha told MLB.com after the game. “I wanted to stay in there and keep pitching. My foot felt good enough to do it, but I guess it was time to come out.”
The Brewers won the game 4-3 after winning a challenge on a call at the plate in which the runner who scored was officially ruled safe.
In Arlington, the Texas Rangers hosted Texas A&M Night as part of their University Days series. Which included the playing of the Aggie War Hymn through the sound system at Globe Life Park prior to the start of the game.
Former A&M All-American and Super Bowl 50 MVP, Von Miller, threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the start of the game. Miller, was wearing a customized #40 A&M baseball jersey, the number he wore for the Aggies. The former A&M-star received much praise from Aggies and Rangers fans attending the game while tossing a generous outside strike prior to the game.