Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Caleb Boushley (57) reacts after pitching out of a jam in the tenth inning against the Chicago Cubs at American Family Field. Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Brewers' 29-year-old rookie reliever shines in unforgettable MLB debut

Originally posted on WI Sports Heroics | By Tyler Koerth_ | Last updated 9/30/23

The Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs are in two different places entering the final weekend series of the regular season. Milwaukee has already secured a postseason berth and will host the wild-card series starting on Tuesday. Chicago has their backs against the wall and needs a lot to go right in order to make the playoffs.

With the Brewers' playoff position already set, they elected to skip both Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta’s starts over the weekend. This will allow them to get extra rest and will set up Brandon Woodruff to pitch in Game 2 of the wild-card series and Freddy Peralta in Game 3 if necessary.

Another component of all of this is setting up the bullpen. Manager Craig Counsell believed that on Friday night he was not going to use any high-leverage relievers. This led to Clayton Andrews and Caleb Boushley being called up and Boushely, a Hortonville, Wis., native, making his MLB debut.

For Milwaukee, the first seven innings could not have gone any better. Colin Rea and Bryse Wilson combined for six scoreless innings and his offense built a 3-0 lead. The ball then got handed off to Andrews. He threw a scoreless seventh but was unable to get out of the eighth inning as he surrendered two runs.

Caleb Boushely then replaced him and was facing a four-out save situation. The first batter he faced was Patrick Wisdom. He got the slugger to strike out and American Family Field went crazy over the 29-year-old recording his first career strikeout.

Unfortunately, to begin the ninth inning, Boushely allowed a game-tying home run to Ian Happ. It was a hanging curveball — a pitch that he would like back. However, he kept his composure, finished the ninth inning and then pitched a scoreless tenth inning.

In the tenth inning, Carlos Santana wasted no time finishing the game as he roped an opposite-field double to left field to score pinch-runner Blake Perkins. Santana was mugged on the field, but it was Boushley who got the Gatorade bath afterward and gave an emotional post-game interview.

This is a moment that Boushely will never forget. He grew up in Wisconsin, attended UW-Lacrosse and had been grinding in the minor leagues since 2017 for an opportunity like this. An estimated 400 family and friends were in attendance for his MLB debut in which he collected the win, threw 2.1 innings, and struck out five batters.

This article first appeared on WI Sports Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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