Tampa Bay Rays' Ian Seymour Snags Clutch Win Against Hometown Team in MLB Debut

BOSTON — The last time Ian Seymour stepped foot in Fenway Park, he did so as a fan.

A fan of the Boston Red Sox.

The Tampa Bay Rays had already drafted the left-hander out of Virginia Tech in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft, but Seymour stayed true to his roots for the 2021 AL Wild Card Game. The Red Sox were hosting with New York Yankees in a winner-takes-all postseason showdown, one that they won 6-2.

Seymour, who grew up 30 miles outside of Boston in Westborough, Massachusetts, got another taste of victory upon his return on Monday.

The 26-year-old southpaw was tasked with pitching the 10th and 11th innings in a wild back-and-forth showdown against his hometown team – and in his MLB debut, no less. Despite it being a bucket list moment for Seymour, his only goal was to hit his spots.

"I was just trying to throw the ball over the plate – literally just get it over the plate as much as I possibly could," Seymour said. "I was happy I could at least kinda do that."

Although one run came in on an error in the 10th, Seymour allowed zero hits and two walks in his 2.0 innings of action, adding two strikeouts along the way. That helped the Rays hold on to win 10-8, with the victory going down in Seymour's name.

"If I was a pitcher and I came in in that situation, I don't know what could have happened," said third baseman Junior Caminero. "So a lot of credit to him."

Seymour's brother, sister, mom, dad and grandmother were all there to watch him come through in the clutch, as were his best friends from home, his high school teammates, his old teachers and even his local gym buddies. He checked in with them quickly after the game before getting championed by his brand-new teammates in a rowdy visiting clubhouse.

"This is probably the best day of my whole life," Seymour said. "It's just something I'm so grateful for, I'm so grateful for the confidence that the guys here put in me to go out in that situation and make it easy to be myself out there. And to do it front of my family and my neighbors and my high school teammates and teachers and all the people that came out tonight was – I mean, that's just something that I'm so grateful for."

Between college, summer ball and the minors, Seymour had made 104 starts compared to just three relief appearances in his post-high school career. He entered Monday 19-9 with a 2.58 ERA, 1.021 WHIP and 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings in his professional career – again, primarily as a starter.

The bright lights didn't throw Seymour off, though, and neither did the slippery rubber atop the mound. He came through with his first career win in his first career big league outing, proving that he has what it takes should the Rays call on him again.

"The poise that he showed out on the mound – I mean, that's not how you draw up anybody's debut, to come in in a tie ballgame in the 10th, but he couldn't have handled it any better," said manager Kevin Cash. "He's gonna pitch his game in the way that he wants to pitch, and I feel like he certainly did that."

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