In his debut series as a major-league pitcher, Jonathan Broxton handled Albert Pujols just fine. It was John Rodriguez who gave the big rookie trouble.
In 2016, Broxton, 31, entered his 12th year in the big leagues and his second as a Cardinals reliever.
The right-hander, an imposing 6 feet 4 and 305 pounds, is seeking an encore to his Cardinals performance in 2015, when he posted a 2.66 ERA in 26 appearances and struck out 26 in 23.2 innings after being acquired from the Brewers on July 31.
Broxton has built a solid big-league resume (3.23 ERA, 118 saves) since making his debut against the Cardinals a month after turning 21.
Right stuff
A second-round selection of the Dodgers in the 2002 amateur draft, Broxton began the 2005 season with Class AA Jacksonsville. Under manager John Shoemaker, Broxton was converted from a starter to a reliever. The transformation led to an increase in the velocity of Broxton’s fastball. It was recorded as high as 101 mph on the speed gun.
Before a series against the Cardinals at Dodger Stadium on the last weekend of July 2005, Broxton got the call to come to Los Angeles.
Asked why the Dodgers would have Broxton skip Class AAA and jump directly to the big leagues, Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta told MLB.com, “Because he throws 101. He has the perfect makeup for the bullpen. After his first game pitching relief, he came back to the dugout and said, ‘I could do this the rest of my career.’ He just took off in the role and made himself a major league-ready pitcher.”
Debut game
On July 29, 2005, Broxton’s first night in the big leagues, the Dodgers led the Cardinals, 5-4, after five innings when manager Jim Tracy opted to replace starter Brad Penny with Broxton.
The first batter Broxton faced, David Eckstein, singled to center. The next, Abraham Nunez, also singled to center, moving Eckstein to second base.
Pujols, the Cardinals’ best hitter, stepped to the plate.
Broxton struck out Pujols on a pitch described by Matthew Leach of MLB.com as “a biting slider.”
“It was my first time facing the guy and that’s always tough,” Pujols said.
Broxton still wasn’t out of trouble.
With Jim Edmonds at the plate, Broxton unleashed a wild pitch, enabling Eckstein to move to third and Nunez to second.
Tracy ordered an intentional walk to Edmonds, loading the bases for Rodriguez.
A left-handed batter, Rodriguez, 27, had made his big-league debut with the Cardinals 11 days earlier on July 18.
Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Eckstein with the tying run.
Broxton limited the damage by striking out Mark Grudzielanek, ending the inning.
Passing grade
In the seventh, Duaner Sanchez relieved Broxton, held the Cardinals scoreless and got the win when the Dodgers scored twice in the bottom half of the inning off starter Matt Morris. Boxscore
“Despite displaying a 96 mph fastball as advertised, Broxton admitted to feeling jittery and pitched that way,” wrote Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
Asked why he had Broxton make his debut in a pressure situation, Tracy replied, “It was quite a test and he passed. What are you going to wait for? A seven- or eight-run lead? You can’t find out much then. In situations like this, you find out about ability, about character, about poise. He passed. He handled it extremely well.”
The game was attended by Broxton’s father, who coached his son from T-ball through middle school in Georgia.
“I’ve always dreamed of getting to this level and it was great having him there to share it,” Broxton said in the book “Major League Dads.”
Back-to-back
The next night, July 30, Tracy called on Broxton again.
This time, the situation was different, though the batters were the same.
With the Cardinals ahead, 8-4, Broxton, the Dodgers’ fourth pitcher of the game, entered to work the eighth.
Eckstein led off and flied out to center. Nunez walked.
Again, Broxton struck out Pujols. (Through 2015, Pujols had a career .143 batting average, 3-for-21, against Broxton.)
Edmonds walked and Nunez advanced to second.
With a runner in scoring position, Rodriguez delivered again, singling to right and scoring Nunez.
Like the previous night, the inning ended with Broxton striking out Grudzielanek. Boxscore
Broxton would finish the 2005 season with a 1-0 record, 5.93 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 13.2 innings for the Dodgers.
Through 2015, his career numbers versus the Cardinals: 2.47 ERA, six saves and 40 strikeouts in 40 innings pitched.
Previously: Dodgers rake Tom Poholsky for 14 singles, lose to Cardinals
Leave a Reply