In Major League debut, Orlando triples for first hit
Outfielder becomes third player from Brazil to play in the Majors
KANSAS CITY -- After nine years in the Minor Leagues, outfielder Paulo Orlando made his Major League debut on Thursday for the Royals.
And Orlando, filling in for left fielder Alex Gordon, made it a memorable one. He collected a walk, hit a triple for his first Major League hit and made two running catches in the outfield during the Royals' 4-1 victory over the White Sox.
Orlando, 29, became the third Brazilian to play in the Major Leagues -- Cleveland's Yan Gomes and the Chicago White Sox's Andre Rienzo are the others.
"It was just great to see," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Then he hit that triple ... you could see everyone in our dugout get excited for him."
Video: CWS@KC: Orlando talks about his Major League debut
Orlando breathed a sigh of relief after the game.
"It might not have looked like it," he said, "but I was nervous. There was a lot of emotions out there for me. Maybe next time I can control my emotions more."
The Royals retrieved the baseball from Orlando's first hit, though catcher Salvador Perez pretended to throw it back into the stands.
"Yeah, he does that," Orlando said, smiling.
Yost said that he wasn't surprised that Orlando hung on through nine years in the Minors.
"If you're still making progress, then you just need opportunity," Yost said. "There have been times he had opportunities to go to other organizations as a six-year free agent. But he hung in there with us and he's made great strides."