Carlos Ruiz made his name in the majors as a popular catcher with the Philadelphia Phillies before he joined the Mariners this season as veteran insurance at catcher behind Mike Zunino.
Until Tuesday night, he’d played in 1,109 games in a 12-year career in the majors that included an All-Star team nomination in 2012… but had never taken the mound as a pitcher.
That changed in the Mariners’ eventual 20-7 defeat to the Twins — a game that saw the M’s use five different pitchers.
With the M’s trailing Minnesota 19-6 in the eighth inning, Ruiz came into the game as a pitcher.