Canadian Black collects two hits in big league debut
Published
Canadian Tyler Black collected two hits in his MLB debut Tuesday night as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 8-2.
Officially called up by Milwaukee earlier in the day, Black doubled to centre field in his first big league at-bat and followed that up with a single to centre in the fifth inning. The Toronto native finished the night 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Black was not in the starting lineup to begin the game but came on as a pinch-runner in the first inning to replace an injured Gary Sanchez, who started the game as Milwaukee's designated hitter.
Black came into 2024 as the top-ranked player on TSN's Scott Mitchell's Top 50 Canadian MLB Prospects list released in January. According to MLB Pipeline, Black is the Brewers' fourth-ranked prospect.
He began the season in Triple-A Nashville and was slashing .303/.393/.525 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 25 games this season prior to the call up. The 23-year-old is also the son of TSN's Rod Black, who was among the family in attendance for the special occasion.
Black's debut came in a game that was eventful for other reasons as well.
After some signs of tension earlier in the evening, things really boiled over between Rays outfielder Jose Siri and Brewers right-hander Abner Uribe after an eighth-inning groundout, with the two coming to blows and causing the benches to empty. Siri and Uribe were each ejected, along with Brewers starter Fredy Peralta and manager Pat Murphy for an earlier incident.
The Brewers and Rays will conclude their three-game set Wednesday afternoon at American Family Field in Milwaukee.