FanPost

This date in Rays history: August 2nd

On this date in Rays history, 2 MLB debuts were made by future stars of the team, B.J. Upton and Jeremy Helickson

2004 - B.J. Upton was filled in as the DH and batted 9th against the Boston Red Sox and Tim Wakefield. Upton led off the bottom of the 3rd against Wakefield by grounding out to the second baseman, Bill Mueller. Upton was up 2nd in the 5th and walked to reach base for the first time in his career. He advanced to 3rd on single by Carl Crawford, then scored on an RBI ground-out by Rocco Baldelli. In the bottom of the 7th, Upton was up 2nd again and on a 1-0 count, B.J. lined a single into right for his first career hit. In his final at-bat of the game, Upton was up with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th against Boston closer, Keith Foulke. Foulk struck Upton out swinging to end the game and record his 17th save of the year.

Upton's line on the day: 3AB/1R/1H/0RBI/1BB/1K/

So far in 8 seasons, Upton has 853 hits, 99 homeruns, 220 stolen bases, and has gained a WAR of 11.2. He has a line of .338/.411/.750

2010 - Jeremy Helickson was called up to give the normal staff a breather during a tough stretch, during this point in the season the Rays had been the only team to use only 5 starting pitchers all season long. Helickson would be going against Carl Pavano and his Minnesota Twins. Helickson's first opponent would Denard Span. Helickson's first career pitch was a 92mph fastball that was a called strike. Helickson got Span to ground weakly back to the mound for his first out. In the top of the 2nd, Helickson recorded his first career strike out when Jason Kubel struck out swinging. Helickson started out his career by retiring the first 10 men he faced. He allowed a run in the 4th and a solo homerun in the 6th. Helickson recorded the win in game for his first career major league victory

Helickson's line on the day: 7IP/3H/2R/2ER/2BB/6K/1HR

In Helickon's 2+ seasons with the Rays: he has won the American League Rookie of the Year award, has a record of 23-16, 3.10ERA, 2CG, 1 Shutout, and has a 5.7 WAR

This post was written by a member of the DRaysBay community and does not necessarily express the views or opinions of DRaysBay staff.