Carson Williams' MLB Debut Smashing Success in Rays' 10-6 Win Over Cardinals

Shortstop Carson Williams made his major-league debut in front of friends and family Friday night, and he had two hits – including a home run — in the Tampa Bay Rays' 10-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Carson Williams celebrates after he hit a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

TAMPA, Fla. — Watching the present-day Tampa Bay Rays hasn't been much fun lately, so getting a glimpse at the future was a whole lot of fun on Friday night.

Rookie shortstop Carson Williams made his major-leage debut against the St. Louis Cardinals at Steinbrenner Field, and all he did was get two hits — including his first major-league home run — in a fun 10-6 win over the Cardinals.

The future is now the present. The Rays' No. 1 prospect had a debut to remember in front of a sold-out crowd that included about 20 friends and family members.

“It’s absolutely everything,” Williams said when asked about sharing his debut with his family. “It's everything I've worked for, everything I've dreamed of. It's why I do it, and it's just a culmination tonight. It’s so cool, and I couldn't have done it without them.

“I don't even know,” Williams said of his first home run, and the feelings attached to it. “I just freaked out. I blacked out. I hit it, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got to run.' I started running and I was just, ‘Go out, go out, go out.’ Then it went out, and I lost it.”

The two-run home run over the center field wall in the bottom of the seventh was a big deal because the Rays' early 7-1 lead had shrunk to 7-6. The blast gave the Rays a nice cushion again and they added another run in teh eighth to snap a four-game losing streak. The Rays are now 62-66 on the season with 34 games to go.

The two teams are off on Saturday because of a conflict with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' preseason football game across the street at Raymond James Stadium. They'll conclude the series on Sunday, with a 12:10 start.

Williams finished his first night 2-for-4 with three RBIs. He was called up because shortstops Ha-Seong Kim and Taylor Walls were both on the injured list. He really should have had three hits. He reached on an error in the second inning, but it was a close call and looked like he would have beaten the errant throw anyway. But it was ruled an error instead of a hit.

“It’s probably the best debut that I've been a part of,” Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe said.

The Rays' outfielders had a night to remember, too. Jake Mangum, Josh Lowe and Chandler Simpson combined to go 9-for-14. Mangum, who's been struggling for the much of the past month, had four hits, including two doubles. The Rays had 16 hits on the night.

Adrian Houser picked up the win, going 6 1/3 innings and pitching well berfore running into some trouble in the seventh. It was his second straight strong start, and he's now 7-4 on the season.

Ryan Pepiot (8-10, 3.95 ERA) will pitch the series finale for the Rays on Sunday. He'll face off against former Rays farmhand Matthew Liberatore (6-10, 4.13). Liberatore, a 2018 first-round pick of the Rays was traded to the Cardinals in 2020 for Randy Arozarena and others.