David Robertson perfect in Tampa Bay Rays debut

Wednesday was David Robertson’s first day back in the big leagues since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2019, but that didn’t stop Kevin Cash from calling upon the latest addition to his bullpen in a high leverage situation.

Robertson took the mound in the top of the 8th inning, facing the 9-1-2 hitters in the Boston Red Sox lineup.

The outing went about as perfectly as one could have hoped with Robertson setting down all three hitters he faced on 15 pitches, collecting two strikeouts in the process. He flashed a devastating combination of low 90’s fastball and a curveball in the low to mid 80’s.

He recorded just one strike on a whiff, which came on a curveball he used to strikeout Jonathan Arauz.

Kyle Schwarber battled with Robertson, fouling off a few pitches before weakly grounding out. Then Hunter Renfroe would be called out on strikes, ending Robertson’s perfect inning with a strikeout.

He needed just four pitches to set down Renfroe, with the final pitch being a 92 mph fastball perfectly located as it came across the plate at the knees and edging the outside corner for the called third strike.

During the outing, Robertson displayed solid, nearly pinpoint command of his fastball while his curveball showcased some solid late movement. However, despite Robertson’s perfect outing, the game still resulted in a loss for the Rays, who will look to rebound in Thursday's series finale against the Red Sox.