Stone. Louis-When Riley O'Brien made his last pitch in Seattle-he grew up dreaming of reaching the majors, but never thought it was realistic-that was 2022, he had a one-off audition with the Mariners. Eventually, he was demoted to Tri-Tacoma a day later and was assigned as a mission nearly three weeks later.
Now, more than three years later, he will return to his home country’s Pacific Northwest on Monday as the Cardinal won Saturday night and won the game in a 4-3 win over the Giants on Sunday. O'Brien spent all or part of eight seasons in the minor leagues, but he'll be home now and feels like a solid major league pitcher.
“It's definitely weird to think about it, but I'm so glad to go back and hope to throw something meaningful there,” said Seattle native O'Brien.[Sticking in the big leagues] It's a very good feeling. I'm still in everyday grinding mode and it's not really reflected in this year, but I'm sure I'll be proud of this year during the offseason. ”
The Cardinals (72-72) won their fourth win in five games and Sunday’s Mets defeat (76-67), taking the game in 4 1/2 games of the NBA final field card position. A loss to the Cardinals on Saturday night and Sunday made the Giants (72-71) surge in late-season and left them on the Mets’ back. From September 22 to 24, the Cards and the Giants are still three games left in San Francisco.
For a long flight to Seattle on Sunday night, the young cardinal player was sent into the costume of a cartoon character. Jimmy Crooks and Andre Granillo wore head-to-hair outfits, while Matt Svanson and Michael McGreevy matched the light purple belt. Meanwhile, Victor Scott II wore a bright yellow outfit, and Nathan Church scrambled to figure out how to exaggerate his outfit.
O'Brien, 30, has pitched in parts of four MLB seasons, but technically his rookie status remains intact. He threw 1 1/3 innings with the Reds in 2021, surrendering two home runs and three walks. He returned to the big guy with the sailors in 2022, but he allowed a round of hits. He defeated Shohei Ohtani with the Cardinal on opening day in 2024, but he spent most of his season damaged forearm injuries.
This season, O'Brien was selected for Memphis three times before returning on June 9 and sticking with a major league club. Jojo Romero had the chance (7 savings and wins since August 1 since August 1), Svenson (12 appearances since August 1) and O'Brien and O'Brien (3 wins and 3 wins since August 1).
“[Svanson] Here comes today, it's a big situation, he's attacking, and that's what you want to see. [Trade] Deadline and we lost these three guys, each of them hit a more important role.
“[O’Brien] Already arrived [closer’s role] Excellent. For him, a big part is staying healthy and he does a good job. He was in the attack and gave no matter what happened. He doesn't allow negative impact on the next court, which may be the biggest difference for him. Regardless of the situation, overall self-dialogue and locking in the situation are big. ”
O'Brien won the Cardinal on Sunday for Gray, who improved to 20-9 in the season. Gray saw his perfect match hopes to end in the fourth inning, when he allowed a walk to Willy Adames while he bid for the sixth inning without hits and closing when Rafael Devers lined up the ball in the midfield.
When he arrives in Seattle, O'Brien should talk to his mom about which member of the family and friends group will form the approximately 40 supporters he will have in the T-Mobile Park crowd when facing the Mariners on Monday. When he exposed rubber to his toes in the three-game series, O'Brien would be very different from the pitcher there three years ago.
“When I was a kid, I always went there to watch Ichiro [Suzuki]I dreamed of playing there, but it never seemed to be reality,” he said. [closer] My current role, it brings my competitive model. When you play a single player in Game 9, all you want is to get the batsman out, which is very competitive. It's very enjoyable and I like it. ”