ARLINGTON -- Ryan Murray was working at a geothermal site in Milford, Utah, when his phone rang on Wednesday with the kind of news that any dad who served as his son’s baseball coach dreams of hearing.
On the other end of the line was one of his sons, Jayden, a pitcher with the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys.
“He said, ‘Dad, guess what? I just got it. I’m going up,’” Ryan said.
And with the news that Jayden Murray was headed to Houston to join the Astros for the series finale against the Yankees on Thursday night, the Murray family began scrambling to make arrangements to be there. Ryan flew out of St. George, Utah, while his wife, Darchel, Jayden’s brothers, grandmother, uncle, cousins and other family members flew out of Salt Lake City.
“Luckily, we all met in the same spot and got down here,” Ryan said. “That's why I say it's been exhausting the last couple days.”
Jayden Murray, a 28-year-old right-hander who was acquired from the Rays in a three-team trade in 2022, came out of the bullpen with two outs in the eighth inning on Thursday night at Daikin Park and retired Aaron Judge on three pitches, getting him to line out. He came back and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, getting his first career strikeout against José Cabellero.
“It was a surreal moment,” said Jayden, whose four-seam fastball and sinker averaged 96.8 mph. “It was a childhood dream coming true, and it was just awesome to be out there. It was fun to be able to go out there and compete in front of family.”
The Murray family, which also includes brothers Kyler and Karson, and grandmother, Pam, stood and cheered when he walked off the mound and later posed for pictures on the field after the game. They all played a part in Jayden’s journey.
“Oh, my gosh, it's amazing,” Darchel said. “I mean, we've waited for so long and, you know, at one point, we thought, ‘Oh, it's never going to happen.’ And then when it happened and I still can't believe it's real, still can't wrap my head around it.”
On Friday, the weary family rented a pair of vehicles and drove 250 miles from Houston to Arlington to watch the Astros play the Rangers. The family is from the tiny town of Vernal, Utah, which serves as a gateway to the nearby Dinosaur National Monument, Flaming Gorge and Uinta Mountain Range.
“My dad was my coach growing up and he was one of those dads where if you walk somebody, he’s mad at you, and if you strike out somebody, he’s happy,” Jayden said. “I owe it all to him.”
Jayden attended Dixie State University in Utah and was selected by the Rays in the 23rd round of the 2019 MLB Draft. He pitched in 118 career Minor League games before getting the call.
“Oh, yeah, it is unbelievable,” Ryan said. “I mean, since he's a little boy, he's always had a dream, you know? He's never deviated from that. And, I mean, here we are today, and he's living that dream.”
Murray came to Major League camp with the Astros in 2023 and proceeded to post an 8.27 ERA in 11 games (eight starts) with Sugar Land before having thoracic outlet surgery. He was rehabbing in the Florida Coast League in ’24, when his right elbow locked up. That led to another major surgery -- an ulnar nerve transposition -- that October.
Beginning this year, Murray made the move from a starter to the bullpen and had appeared in 50 games at Sugar Land with a 4.64 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 30 walks in 64 innings.
“It was tough mentally,” Jayden said of the rehab process.
But when Murray strolled from the bullpen to the mound at Daikin Park on Thursday, it was all worth it. His family stood and cheered when he picked up the ball and they held their breath -- and in the case of Darchel, covered her eyes -- when Judge came to the plate.
“I was like, ‘Seriously? Really?’” she said. “This first day you pitch and we have to face Aaron Judge, but it was awesome. He did great.”