Dan Slania lived out his Major League dream on Friday night.
The 25-year-old right-hander made his MLB debut in the ninth inning of the Giants’ 13-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, tossing a perfect inning and recording the final out of San Francisco’s fourth straight victory.
Now, Slania will have to wait for his next shot.
On Saturday morning, San Francisco recalled right-handed pitcher Chris Stratton from AAA Sacramento and optioned Slania, who was initially called up earlier this week from AA Richmond.
When Giants’ closer Mark Melancon was placed on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday with a pronator strain, San Francisco’s options were limited. The team’s top overall prospect, Tyler Beede, had pitched the night before Melancon was placed on the disabled list, while its No. 2 pitching prospect, Joan Gregorio, was placed on the AAA disabled list with a back injury.
Stratton had also pitched recently, so the Giants called up the freshest arm they had on their 40-man roster, which was Slania.
The Notre Dame product traversed the country on Wednesday morning to arrive in San Francisco around the second or third inning of the Giants’ win over the Rockies, and manager Bruce Bochy was not forced to use Slania after starter Ty Blach pitched into the seventh inning. So immediately following the contest, Slania hopped back on a plane, and flew with the Giants back to the East Coast for their series-opener in Pittsburgh.
Slania was rewarded for his efforts in frequent flyer miles and with his first Major League appearance, but the Giants elected to send him back down to the minors Saturday to promote Stratton.
Stratton made his Major League debut with the Giants in 2016, as the organization’s first round draft choice in 2012 pitched in seven games and recorded a 3.60 earned run average. Stratton has struggled with AAA Sacramento this season, posting a 5.71 ERA over 12 starts.
However, with news of Gregorio’s season-long suspension coming Saturday morning and Beede still working on improvements at the AAA level, the Giants decided to promote Stratton to increase their bullpen depth.
Stratton has appeared in two games for the Giants already this year, allowing five earned runs over 3 and 1/3 innings pitched.
