OAKLAND, Calif. — On one side of the winning Tampa Bay clubhouse, pitcher Shane Baz celebrated his first win in more than two years after a long journey back from Tommy John surgery.
Across the way stood his equally joyful catcher, Rob Brantly, holding his 8-month-old son, Bennett.
Brantly’s family had made the trip Tuesday for this special occasion — he had gone even longer since his last appearance in the majors in May 2022. Brantly had finally returned to the big leagues at age 35.
“It was incredible,” Brantly said as father and son smiled at each other after the Rays’ 1-0 victory against the Oakland Athletics a day after he was promoted from Triple-A Durham.
“I didn’t find out that they were actually going to be able to make it until this morning, and oh my gosh when I got to see them in the stands — and I didn’t find them until like midgame — man did it lift my spirits when I saw them. It gave me something extra today for sure.”
Brantly played one game for the Yankees on May 22, 2022.
Baz (1-2) hadn’t won in the majors since beating the Blue Jays on July 3, 2022, in Toronto.
The right-hander allowed three hits, struck out four and walked three over a career-best 7⅔ innings after missing all of last year recovering from the reconstructive elbow surgery.
“It’s tough,” Baz said of his long road back. “You’ve got to take it one day at a time and just try and get better so when you do get back you give yourself the best chance to succeed. Definitely happy with that one.”
Both players could enjoy the moment for the other — and were such a key part of the successful night.
“I think everybody witnessed how electric his stuff was,” Brantly said. “He had all four of his pitches going today, so that made it so easy on me.”
Baz and Brantly had worked together before at Durham, so that provided comfort for both of them.
They were the right combination for manager Kevin Cash.
“That was really cool, that’s special,” Cash said. “Throwing a shutout is really tough and we just threw a shutout combined with Edwin Uceta as well and Brantly certainly plays a big role in that. So happy for Brant that he was able to have the right fingers and the guys were on board with what he was calling.”