For Jayvien Sandridge, the third time was the charm.
Although, it may not feel so charming right now.
The Mercersburg Academy grad was called up from the minors to join the New York Yankees for the third time in the last 15 days on Friday as the club made a flurry of moves to bolster its pitching staff, triggered by an arm injury to starter Clarke Schmidt.
But Sandridge never saw the field in his first two promotions because he was optioned back to Triple A Scranton/Wilkes Barre on the following day.
This time was different and memorable, for maybe the wrong reasons.
The Hagerstown native made his debut in the seventh inning of Saturday’s game against New York Mets, the second day of the three-game New York Subway Series.
It became a baptism by fire in the Yankees’ 12-6 loss.
The first two batters he faced to start his Major League career were Juan Soto and Pete Alonso, a pair of marquees multi-All-Star selected players in the heart of the Mets’ batting order.
The 26-year-old left-handed pitcher came on to replace Scott Effross – another Friday addition – with no outs after the Mets extended their lead to 8-5. Effros, who relieved starter Carlos Rodon, allowed a leadoff double to pinch hitter Ronny Mauricio and an RBI single to Francisco Lindor before he was lifted.
Sandridge took the mound and walked Soto, one of the highest paid players in baseball, before giving up a three-run home run to left field to Alonso to make it 11-5. Alonso, the two-time Major League Home Run Derby winner, is looking for a new deal from the Mets or free agency at the end of the season.
Sandridge bounced back immediately by striking out Brandon Nimmo and Mark Vientos, but walked Luis Torrens and hitting Jeff McNeil with a pitch before being lifted in favor of JT Brubaker.
Sandridge pitched two-thirds of an inning, allowing two runs on one hit with two walks, two strikeouts and a hit batter, to start his career with a 27.00 earned run average.
The outing ended a 15-day odyssey that may have made Sandridge feel like a ping pong ball
He was called up by the Yankees on June 19 to fill a bullpen opening after reliever Yerry De los Santos suffered an elbow injury. He was returned to Scranton-Wikes Barre on June 20 when veteran reliever Luke Weaver was activated from the injury list.
The second callup came on June 22 after starting pitcher Ryan Yarbrough suffered an oblique strain. But Sandridge was option again on the next day and swapped places with Scranton starter Allan Winans, who started for the Yankees on June 23.
But with so much activity, it seemed to be only a matter of time before Sandridge got his chance.
Saturday’s pitching debut ended six seasons in the Baltimore, Cincinnati and San Diego minor-league systems before signing with the Yankees organization before this season.
He started this season on the injured list and didn’t start playing until May. He opened with four rehabilitation appearances – two at Tampa and Hudson Valley, both Single-A teams – before joining Scranton.
Before the third promotion, Sandridge had a 1-0 record with a 0.87 ERA in nine appearances with the Railriders. He pitched i10 1/3 innings, allowing one run on six hits with five walks and 19 strikeouts.
The promotion is the latest step in Sandridge’s relentless drive to play pro baseball.
He climbed Hagerstown’s youth league ladder, playing at Federal Little League, Hagerstown PONY League and Funkstown Post 211 American Legion.
But his physical stature trended to football as a lineman. He started playing at Mercersburg Academy where his father, Juwuane, was coaching.
In his sophomore year, Sandridge had a growth spurt, which got his interests back into baseball. A change of sports, diet and workouts rounded him into a 6-foot-5, 220-pound frame.
At Mercersburg, he went 7-0 with a 0.97 ERA over 43 innings in his senior year, while striking out 70. He allowed 23 hits and walked 29, but only allowed six earned runs. The Blue Storm went 19-5 and won two league titles — the Mid-Atlantic Prep League and the Independent-Parochial School League — that season.
