The third pitch of Wilber Dotel’s major league debut was a 1-1 slider below the strike zone that Junior Caminero sent 389 feet to left field for a home run, a welcome-to-the-majors moment.
How the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie right-hander responded against the heart of the Tampa Bay Rays’ batting order in the ninth inning Sunday afternoon was even more memorable.
Dotel struck out Jonathan Aranda on three consecutive four-seam fastballs, got Yandy Diaz to ground out and flirted with 100 mph on three consecutive pitches to get Cedric Mullins to fly out to put the finishing touches on a 6-3 win at PNC Park.
“Oh man, that was impressive – especially for a guy making his debut in the ninth inning with a lead and he gave up a homer and then come back with triple digits and stay in the zone,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “That was phenomenal.”
Dotel’s debut was borne out of necessity, coming the day after the Pirates used six relievers in a game that lasted four hours, 12 minutes and was interrupted by a 2:27 rain delay. Kelly said they needed someone capable of throwing 90 pitches in an emergency, and the 6-foot-3, 238-pound Dotel fit the bill. Despite being primarily a starter in the minors, Dotel is expected to handle a bulk relief role for the Pirates.
“We had to find a way to try to save those guys out there,” Kelly said. “And Dotel did awesome.”
The 23-year-old Dominican, who led all Pirates minor leaguers with 131 strikeouts at Double-A Altoona last season, was added to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. He wasn’t exactly dominating at Triple-A Indianapolis, going 1-2 with a 6.28 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and 13 strikeouts against seven walks in three starts, but had impressed his teammates and coaching staff in spring training.
“I love it,” said Pirates catcher Joey Bart, who caught Dotel in spring training. “He attacks the zone. He’s got a lot of confidence, from what I can tell. Small sample size, but I saw 100 mph flashing on the scoreboard, and it’s just ridiculous. We’re just spawning guys throwing 100 mph these days. I’m really excited for him. I think he’s a really, really good person on top of what he has. That’s really key and I’m really excited to see him get comfortable up here.”
Dotel was scratched from Saturday’s start at Omaha, caught an early morning flight to Pittsburgh and anticipated pitching multiple innings in his debut. Mitch Keller tossed seven strong innings and Isaac Mattson served as the bridge in the eighth inning, leaving the ninth for Dotel.
Dotel said he dealt with a lot of emotions entering his first big league game. He couldn’t wait to get from the bullpen to the mound as fast as possible and start throwing pitches.
“It felt really good just for me to have the opportunity to pitch my first big-league game today and here at home,” Dotel said through translator and Pirates coach Stephen Morales. “I felt the energy from the fans. That was a good thing, and it felt really good.”
There was no shame in serving up a home run to Caminero, as the 22-year-old All-Star third baseman hit 45 homers last season and even took National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes deep for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic semifinals.
“I kept my composure and went after it again,” Dotel said, “and the results were there.”
Dotel’s velocity increased with each pitch to Aranda, getting him to foul off a 97.7-mph four-seamer, a called strike on a 98.2 heater and swinging at a 98.6-mph fastball for his first career strikeout.
At his locker in the Pirates’ clubhouse, Dotel proudly displayed the souvenir ball from his first K and said he would be sending it home to his mother. Not bad for an under-the-radar prospect who signed for $65,000 at age 18 in October 2020.
“That’s part of my job, just to have a good mound presence, attack the strike zone and finish hitters,” Dotel said. “That’s what I did.”
Dotel followed by getting Diaz to ground into a 1-3 putout, then threw gas at Mullins, whose two-run homer in the 13th inning clinched the Rays’ win on Saturday. Dotel hit 99.8, 99.7 and 99 mph on the radar gun. The PNC Park scoreboard rounded up, giving Dotel credit for touching triple digits. Dotel got Mullins to fly out to center to record the final out of a game for the first time in his professional career.
“Normally, I’m around the 100 mph mark after my second or third inning,” Dotel said. “But this time it was special because I needed to get it going right away to finish the inning.”