PITTSBURGH -- Tobias Myers grew up in Polk County, Fla., the same county that Andrew McCutchen was raised in. So fate dealt a funny hand in Myers’ Major League debut, when McCutchen stepped into the box on Tuesday as the first batter Myers would face to begin his big league career.

Thankfully, Myers got some great advice about how to handle the situation from the ones who had helped them both grow as baseball players.

“All my older coaches who had the pleasure to coach him as well told me to not throw heaters in,” Myers said.

So for his first pitch he threw … well, a heater in, one which was supposed to be down and away. McCutchen sent it beyond the left-field wall for a leadoff homer en route to the Pirates handing the Brewers a 2-1 loss.

But the biggest story of the night for the Crew was not that one mistake; it was how Myers -- a longtime Minor Leaguer finally getting his biggest chance -- responded to it.

Myers retired the next five batters in order, then worked out of a two-on, two-out jam. McCutchen got him for a leadoff single in the third, but Myers stranded him and faced the minimum over his final nine batters. What could have been a start that sped up quickly on the 25-year-old turned into a five-inning gem that Brewers manager Pat Murphy said was “more than we expected.”

“He was poised,” Murphy said. “I think he rose to the occasion.”

Typically, a starting pitcher is left to his warmup work in relative peace. But Murphy walked out to the outfield as Myers was getting loose to give him a message: to pitch for the team. The gesture put Myers in an even better state of mind.

"It honestly calmed me down a lot,” he said. “Having him take that walk all the way out to left field, center field pretty much. It was nice to know he has my back and he wants me to do the best to help the team win.”

One could say Myers’ own journey to the Majors was a long walk in its own right. He was drafted by the Orioles in 2016, but it took eight seasons with a lot of adversity to finally reach the biggest stage.

Myers was quickly dealt to the Rays by the Orioles for Tim Beckham at the 2017 Deadline. With Tampa Bay, he began to get some clout. At the end of the ‘18 season, Myers was ranked the No. 18 prospect in the Rays’ organization by MLB Pipeline. In ‘19, he was 9-1 with a 2.13 ERA over 84 2/3 innings across Rookie-level and High-A ball. His strikeout rate skyrocketed in a successful ‘21 campaign over stints at Double-A and Triple-A.

That offseason, right as he was on the doorstep of the Majors, Myers was traded from the Rays to the Guardians for Junior Caminero -- who is now the game's No. 4 overall prospect, per MLB Pipeline.

However, Myers’ 2022 went awry, and he pitched to a 7.82 ERA in 23 games (22 starts). That season became a whirlwind: He was designated for assignment by the Guardians, then traded to the Giants. He was designated for assignment again less than a month later, and the White Sox claimed him off waivers. By the end of the year, he was released.

The Brewers picked him up on a Minor League free-agent deal ahead of 2023, kept him as a starter and game by game, he began his climb back. He set the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers’ single-season strikeout record with 168 in 27 games (26 starts).

Through that long journey, Myers never let doubt sink in.

“I’ve always believed in myself,” Myers said. “It definitely took a lot of hard work, but the confidence, it’s never really left me. It’s just one of those things where you get punched in the face and you’ve got to just deal with it.”

Because Myers persevered after the first-pitch homer like he persevered through his time in the Minor Leagues, the Brewers’ pitching group is set up well to cover innings while dealing with a lot of injuries. And he left a big impression on his new skipper, who said Myers has certainly made a case for another start.

“This kid, he picked us up big right there,” Murphy said. “We’re reeling a bit because of injuries and inexperience and all those pitchers down. For this kid to come in and make his Major League debut and do what he did against a fairly veteran team and a team that’s done really well early in the season on the road, that’s really, really good.”