WASHINGTON -- Austin Bibens-Dirx, ABD for short, found out Saturday afternoon that he would make his second major league start Sunday.
Then his wife, Leah, informed him he'd be pitching against Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer.
The conversation went like this:
"Oh, I have to face Max Scherzer," Bibens-Dirkx said, perhaps momentarily intimidated by the task.
"No," Leah interrupted. "You get to face Max Scherzer, and he gets to face you. You've earned the privilege of being a big leaguer. You don't have to face anybody."
She was right, at least, based on Sunday's unlikely results.