OAKLAND, Calif. — Cesar Valdez pitched in the major leagues for the first time in nearly seven years and the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners 9-6 on Thursday night.
He allowed three runs and five hits in four innings, struck out four and walked two. This marked just the third start of his career at age 32 and 10th appearance in all — and he is probably headed right back to the minors soon.
A right-hander from the Dominican Republic, he was called up from Triple-A Nashville to fill in for injured opening day starter Kendall Graveman.