OAKLAND -- Jaime Schultz played a key role in the Rays' 4-3 win over the A's on Tuesday night.
The right-hander entered the game in the seventh inning to make his Major League debut, then mowed down the three batters he faced, striking out the side.
In doing so, Schultz became the second pitcher in Rays history to strike out every batter faced in his Major League debut, following 35-year-old rookie left-hander Jim Morris on Sept. 18, 1999, at Texas. He was the first pitcher in the Major Leagues to go at least one inning pitched and strike out every batter in his debut since Pittsburgh's John Holdzkom on Sept. 2, 2014, at St. Louis.
After the game, Schultz, the Rays' No. 28 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, got the news that he'd been optioned back to Triple-A Durham to make room for Nathan Eovaldi, who was activated and made his Rays debut Wednesday. In addition, Jake Faria (left-oblique strain) was transferred from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL to make room for Eovaldi on the 40-man roster.
Schultz was 1-1 with a 9.98 ERA for Durham prior to getting recalled to the Rays on Sunday.
"Look, I give [pitching coach] Kyle [Snyder], and [bullpen coach] Stan [Boroski] and our player development a lot of props for coming to grips and understanding, [bringing him to the Major Leagues] was the right thing for him," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "We did it for us, but it was the right thing for Jaime at that time.
"Kind of probably spinning his wheels a little bit in Triple-A. The results he wasn't getting. It was a good little reminder for him to understand how much we value him. And how much we value him going forward."
What happened in Tuesday's game delivered a nice bonus to the Rays.
"Huge credit for him to go out there and punch out the side like he did in a 3-1 ballgame [the score when he entered the game]," Cash said. "That's not the ideal situation for any young pitcher to come into, but we were desparate and in need. And he came up and threw strikes."