Wil Nieves was one of those guys at spring training that walked quietly through the crowds as kids and middle-aged men pushed past him to seek autographs from the star players. Always with a smile, he’d tease Flores about being a star as he waited for his friend to sign autographs and talk to kids.
Now, due to injuries to Lo Duca and Estrada, and a plan to keep Flores in the minors, Nieves has been called up to spend some time in the majors and he couldn’t be making more out of this special opportunity. A good catch and throw guy, a fast runner and a catcher with lots of energy, Wil deserved his moment in the spotlight last night.
His first ever major league home run came in the bottom of the 9th in a tied 3-3 game against the Chicago Cubs. With Kearns on first, Nieves drove Bob Howry’s fastball deep to right field for a walk off win over the Cubs in front of 35,000+.
Perez had another quality start — 6 innings, 2 runs on 5 hits. Ayala pitched a scoreless 7th before struggling in the 8th and loading the bases with 1 out. O’Connor was called in and prompty walked Matt Murton to tie the game. Saul Rivera entered the game and gave us a remarkable 2 outs. It could have been ugly. Instead, it was tied.
There’s no guarantee for Wil to stay come next week when Lo Duca is activated from the DL, though he’s certainly left an impression on all of us during his time here.
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