In the winning Tampa Bay clubhouse, pitcher Shane Baz celebrated his first win in over two years after a long recovery from Tommy John surgery.
Nearby, catcher Rob Brantly was also celebrating, holding his 8-month-old son, Bennett. Brantly’s family had traveled for this special moment—he had not played in the majors since May 2022 and had just returned at age 35.
“It was incredible,” Brantly said as he smiled at his son after the Rays’ 1-0 victory against the Oakland Athletics, a day after he was promoted from Triple-A Durham.
“I didn’t find out that they were actually going to be able to make it until this morning, and oh my gosh when I got to see them in the stands—and I didn’t find them until like midgame—man did it lift my spirits when I saw them. It gave me something extra today for sure.”
Brantly had played only one game for the Yankees on May 22, 2022.
Baz (1-2) had not won a game in the majors since defeating the Blue Jays on July 3, 2022, in Toronto.
The right-hander allowed three hits, struck out four, and walked three over a career-best 7 2/3 innings after missing all of last year while recovering from the surgery.
“It’s tough,” Baz said about his long recovery. “You’ve got to take it one day at a time and just try and get better so when you do get back you give yourself the best chance to succeed. Definitely happy with that one.”
Both players enjoyed the success of the night and supported each other.
“I think everybody witnessed how electric his stuff was,” Brantly said. “He had all four of his pitches going today, so that made it so easy on me.”
Baz and Brantly had previously worked together at Durham, which made them feel more comfortable.
Manager Kevin Cash was pleased with their performance.
“That was really cool, that’s special,” Cash said. “Throwing a shutout is really tough, and we just threw a shutout combined with Edwin Uceta as well. Brantly certainly plays a big role in that. So happy for Brant that he was able to have the right fingers and the guys were on board with what he was calling.”
