TORONTO — Walking off the mound to a standing ovation from a crowd that included his parents and sister, Chris Rowley started to become aware of the magnitude of his achievement.
Rowley became the first West Point graduate to reach the major leagues, pitching one-run ball over 5 1/3 innings to win his debut Saturday and lead the Toronto Blue Jays over the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2.
A 26-year-old right-hander, Rowley is a 2013 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. Bypassed in the amateur draft, he signed with Toronto and went 4-0 with the Gulf Coast Blue Jays that year.