ST. LOUIS — Replete with a cake bearing the Mexican flag and his record number, the Oakland A’s honored reliever Joakim Soria on Wednesday for achieving a milestone among Mexican-born pitchers. Soria pitched an inning of relief Tuesday night in the A’s 7-3 victory over the Cardinals – the 647th appearance of his career and most-ever by a Mexican-born pitcher.
“You have to be healthy. You have to be in the big leagues. You have to perform,” Soria said in explaining the mark. “You have to be in the best level of baseball, so it means a lot.