Scribner picks up win in Major League debut

TORONTO -- In the span of an hour, right-hander Troy Scribner went from the losing pitcher to the winning pitcher in his Major League debut after the Angels rallied to defeat the Blue Jays, 6-5, on Saturday afternoon at Rogers Centre.
Scribner yielded a tie-breaking, two-run home run to Miguel Montero in his first inning of work, but he rebounded by retiring the final seven batters he faced. The 26-year-old then watched from the dugout as the Angels scored three runs in the ninth off Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna, allowing him to come away with the first victory of his career.
"Amazing," Scribner said. "It was a ton of fun. I had a blast."

Scribner, who was officially called up from Triple-A Salt Lake before Saturday's game, entered the game in the bottom of the sixth, charged with keeping the 3-3 tie intact. He struck out Kendrys Morales swinging to record the first out but then gave up a single to Steve Pearce. Two batters later, Montero blasted an 0-1 changeup to right-center field, giving the Blue Jays a 5-3 lead.

"Because I've given up a ton of home runs in my life, I know exactly what it looks like and what it feels like," Scribner said. "It took a minute to get comfortable up there, but after that I felt really good."
Scribner followed by working two scoreless innings, giving the Angels a chance to rally in the ninth. After the Halos took the lead on Cliff Pennington's sacrifice fly, Scribner said he started feeling nervous upon realizing that he was in line to be the winning pitcher.

"It was so much fun to watch my guys just start hitting and put some runs together there," Scribner said. "It was awesome. At first, I didn't even know what was going on. I thought we were scoring, and then we went ahead. After that, I was like, 'Holy crap, I might get a win here.'"
His victory became official after closer Bud Norris worked around a pair of walks to post a scoreless ninth and seal the Angels' second consecutive win. It capped a whirlwind afternoon for Scribner, who went undrafted out of Sacred Heart University in 2013 and made an unlikely climb to the Majors. Scribner's parents, who had to drive from Connecticut to Buffalo, N.Y., on Friday to get expedited passports before heading to Toronto, were on hand for their son's debut, along with several other family members and friends.

Scribner, the first Sacred Heart product to reach the Majors, said his phone was flooded with messages after the game.
"I haven't even really looked at it yet," he said. "I just need to take a deep breath for a second and relax first."