BOSTON -- Just a day after he was promoted to Triple-A but never got to pitch, lefty Eduardo Rivera’s surreal start to his week continued with him all but needing a key to open Fenway Park on Wednesday.
The Red Sox called up their No. 26 prospect as rated by MLB Pipeline for Wednesday night’s eventual 4-1 loss to the Yankees.
“I was super early here,” Rivera said. “They told me to be here around noon, and I got here at 9:30. Like they said, I opened the ballpark.”
Many hours later, the bullpen gate swung open, and big No. 99 in his home white Red Sox jersey jogged onto the field and opened his career by punching out Jazz Chisholm Jr. to end the top of the sixth inning.
“I felt super happy, and it also gave me confidence to be able to strike out such a good hitter that has been in the league for such a long time, so I feel proud of that moment,” Rivera said.
There was more where that came from. A double play off the bat of Austin Wells helped Rivera face the minimum of three batters in the seventh.
And in the eighth, Rivera went through the meat of the Yankees’ batting order, inducing Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton into groundouts.
“Obviously, I was a little bit nervous when I faced both of them with the careers that they’ve had in the league and all they've done,” Rivera said. “But I was able to settle, to feel confident and to throw the ball through the zone and let them do what they were going to do, and I was able to get them out.”
Rivera wound up pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out three. He threw 41 pitches, 26 of them for strikes.
By the time Rivera got back to the clubhouse, Red Sox clubhouse attendant Tommy McLaughlin presented him with two encased baseballs – one for his first MLB pitch and one for his first career strikeout.
It was the punctuation of a day that felt like a dream at times for Rivera.
As for that overly-early arrival to Fenway by breakfast time, can you blame him for his excitement? Getting to the Majors has been an interesting journey for the 22-year-old.
Rivera, who is from Puerto Rico, was an 11th-round selection of the Athletics in the 2021 Draft. After battling injuries and control for several years, Rivera was released by the A’s in 2024 and signed three weeks later by the Red Sox.
“Obviously I would like to thank the Athletics organization because they were the ones that gave me the opportunity to play professional baseball,” Rivera said. “Obviously it was a very emotional journey. At the end of the day, it was very unexpected for me to be here, and that’s why I’m so happy and so appreciative of this moment for me and for my family as well.”
Rivera, who stands 6-foot-7 and says he weighs 275 pounds (he's listed at 237), topped out at 97.5 mph on his heater during his impressive debut. He threw 28 fastballs, nine sliders and four changeups, generating eight whiffs in 17 swings.
The combination of some recent shortened starts from the rotation and a right hamstring strain that placed righty Sonny Gray on the 15-day injured list has left the Red Sox trying to piece it together from a pitching standpoint the past few days.
Enter Rivera, who did his job, getting 10 outs and leaving the bullpen in good shape for Thursday night’s finale against the Yankees, when the Red Sox will try to avoid getting swept.
“He was really good,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He was efficient, threw strikes, had good stuff. He's been throwing the ball well, so I’m very happy for him.”
In two starts for Double-A Portland this season, Rivera was 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA, walking three and striking out 16 in 10 innings.
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Once Rivera got the news about his promotion to Boston, he couldn’t wait to share the news with his dad, who has the same first and last name.
“Yeah, my dad was the person who took me to the games, took me to the field every single day,” said Rivera. “I always lived with him. He’s the one I dedicate this to and the one that I call every time, and the one that I call first. His name is Eduardo Rivera.”
The only down part of Rivera’s amazing day was that his father’s flight to Boston got canceled, so he wasn’t able to witness his son’s performance live.
However, the emotional father/son moment still took place, just not in person.
“I was able to talk to him after the game,” Rivera said. “He wasn’t able to be here, but I was able to talk to him, and he was crying. He was in tears. So he was so proud that his son made it.”