Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Taylor Rogers was overcome with emotion watching his identical twin brother, Tyler, make his MLB debut on Tuesday night.
Taylor, fresh off a big save in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox, was spotted taking in Tyler’s first big-league appearance, in which the sidearming right-hander pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the San Francisco Giants.
Taylor weighed in on the special moment afterward while speaking with La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune.
“The timing was a surprise,” said Taylor, the emotions of the moment running through him. “The last couple years he had really good years, so we really just thought that maybe it wasn’t gonna happen. He was a free agent after the year, so he said ‘I’m just pitching for other teams, and try to get somewhere else, and see if he can get a shot somewhere else.’
“Today was the day. He was the first person I called when I got called up, and he called me today, and he said, ‘Tay, you’re the first one I’m calling. I’m going up.’ That was a pretty special moment.”
Taylor also became emotional during an on-field interview with FOX Sports North’s Marney Gellner.
Tyler is a two-time Triple-A All-Star, so his major league debut was simply a matter of when. The fact that the twin brothers pitched in MLB games on the same night was not lost on Taylor either.
“I’m not gonna lie to you, I was thinking about it out there, if he was gonna go in at the same time as me,” Taylor said. “You know how twins operate, a lot of times it’s like random stuff comes together, and you’re like, ‘Wow, only this would happen to the twins.'”
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