CHICAGO -- The Major League debut for White Sox southpaw Noah Schultz ended with Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda being called out on strikes for the first out of the fifth inning at Rate Field Tuesday night.
“Yes, I did,” Larry told MLB.com with a laugh during the Rays’ 8-5 victory. “I’m happy for him and his dream of where he’s gotten. I’m so proud of him.
“There’s no way to explain the emotions of seeing my son out there on the mound. ‘Thunderstruck’ on the PA. I started to tear up.”
Schultz came to the White Sox after three dominant appearances for Triple-A Charlotte. He originally came to the South Side from Oswego East High School, located approximately one hour from 35th and Shields, as the team’s top pick in the 2022 Draft at No. 26 overall.
Somewhere around 500 people from the Oswego area made their way to see Schultz’s debut and somewhere around 30 of them were family members. Kim, Noah’s mother, was in attendance, as were his two older sisters, Emily and Ashley.
Both were Division I softball players and would engage in spirited backyard wiffle ball games growing up with their brother. Ashley lives and works in Chicago’s Lakeview area, while Emily, a medical student at Stanford, came in from California to support her brother.
“He called both of us Saturday night and as soon as he hung up the phone, I looked up flights,” Emily said. “I’m here for 24 hours. I’m so happy. Couldn’t be prouder.”
“You can imagine it all you want,” Ashley said. “This whole deal has felt like a dream to me. You know it’s going to happen, you know he’s starting and going in at this time. Actually seeing him walk out there and everyone cheering for him, it’s been amazing to see. It’s surreal.”
Things started well for Schultz, who retired Yandy Díaz on a fly ball to left fielder Tanner Murray. But two walks, a Ryan Vilade double, Ben Williamson’s squeeze bunt and Schultz’s throwing error on the bunt led to three Rays’ runs in a 33-pitch first inning.
Those first-inning jitters started to fade away as Jonny DeLuca became his first career strikeout. Schultz finished with four strikeouts, four walks and three earned runs, settling in and getting through 4 1/3 innings without his best slider and only throwing five of those among his 82 pitches.
"We just got ahead of the hitters with cutters a little bit more, controlling the zone a little bit more with the cutter,” said catcher Edgar Quero of Schultz, who threw first-pitch strikes to 15 of 20 hitters. “His confidence got a little bit better, too, with the fastball later and that's what we used."
“A lot of stuff to learn off of. A lot of things I was proud of," Schultz said. "A lot of things to work on this week. It was incredible. Such a surreal experience. It’s great being out there. It was really awesome.”
Munetaka Murakami’s ninth-inning homer, his fifth overall, marked his first long ball since April 4 against the Blue Jays. It also ended a 1-for-25 funk for the first baseman, but wasn’t enough to prevent Schultz’s first career loss.
This Schultz promotion begins the next wave of prospects coming to the Majors for the White Sox. Players such as left-hander Hagen Smith (Chicago’s No. 4 prospect, No. 64 overall), right-hander Tanner McDougal (No. 6), infielder/outfielder Sam Antonacci (No. 9), infielder William Bergolla Jr. (No. 11) and outfielder Braden Montgomery (No. 1, No. 31 overall) should follow the big southpaw in the not-too-distant future.
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For the Schultz family, it was a truly emotional evening seeing one of their own achieve his dream.
“Being able to see and hear the support from the [people] who are there, something I’ll never forget,” Schultz said. “Something that I’ll forever be thankful for. There are no words I can say to describe it.”
“I told myself I wasn’t going to be nervous, and then he went out there and I was a little nervous,” Emily said. “He crushed it. I can’t imagine the pressure and nerves.”
“The number of dads who get a chance to see their son play for the hometown team has to be incredibly small,” Larry said. “Just making the Majors is incredible, but to make it and be drafted and come up with the White Sox and play here locally is just fantastic.”