As Justin Dunn handed him the baseball, looking to escape the mound and start the process of trying to forget a debut that had gone so very wrong, manager Scott Servais wouldn’t let his rookie pitcher exit in a hurry.
Servais put his hand on Dunn’s shoulder making sure their eyes were locked as he spoke to him.
The manager was going to make sure that Dunn knew that this single moment wouldn’t define him as a pitcher, regardless of the results – five walks and two runs allowed.
When the final out of the interminable top of the first was registered on just one pitch from Zac Grotz, Dunn walked from the far end of the dugout toward the clubhouse to begin his post-outing routine.