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O'Sullivan soaks in San Diego homecoming

SAN DIEGO -- Even though he grew up in North Carolina, Padres outfielder Cameron Maybin remembers hearing about a player in San Diego named Sean O'Sullivan.

When Maybin saw O'Sullivan in all-star games, he thought for sure O'Sullivan would end up as a pretty good third baseman due to his strong bat.

Turns out, O'Sullivan became a pitcher, and last night started a game in his hometown for the Padres, the team he grew up rooting for.

Walking from the bullpen to the dugout before the game is when O'Sullivan tried to soak in as much of the atmosphere as possible. O'Sullivan's hitting prowess was on display, too. He clobbered a pitch off the center-field wall in the third inning for a double and second career hit.

Manager Bud Black complimented O'Sullivan for battling through his emotions and navigating himself from trouble time after time.

"Lot of nerves, lot of adrenaline, so that was tough to calm down to go out there and pitch," O' Sullivan said.

The Giants put multiple men on base in every inning after a 1-2-3 opening frame, but only pushed across two runs against him. He finished the game after throwing 102 pitches in five innings, allowing two runs on six hits.

However, O'Sullivan was tagged with the loss and the game turned sour after he left, as the Giants scored eight runs off the Padres' bullpen.

"I thought [I did] an OK job," O'Sullivan said. "There were a couple situations there where I thought it could've got out of control. Thought I made a pitch when I needed to."

O'Sullivan's family was in the stands and his dad, Paul, gave a television interview during the fourth inning where he sounded more impressed about his son's approach at the plate than worried about his pitching.

"We love watching him hit," he said.

Jamal Collier is an associate reporter for MLB.com.
Read More: San Diego Padres, Sean O'Sullivan