ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Tampa Bay right-hander Erasmo Ramirez became the first pitcher since 1984 to start a major league game the day after recording a save, then didn’t make it out of the third inning Monday night.
A day after pitching a perfect 15th inning on 12 pitches in the Rays’ 8-6 win at Minnesota, Ramirez allowed four runs and six hits in 2 1/3 innings at Texas while throwing 31 of his 43 pitches for strikes.
Ramirez was the first pitcher since Cleveland’s Steve Farr in June 1984 to have a save one day and the start the next day for his team, the Elias Sports Bureau said.
The last player to record a save and then start his team’s next game was Dennis Martinez, a fellow Nicaraguan who was Ramirez’s childhood hero. Martinez saved a game for Montreal on July 11, 1993, and started four days later in the Expos’ next game after the All-Star break.
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