As Marcus Stroman took the mound at Citi Field on Saturday night, the man he was traded for, former Mets' prospect Anthony Kay, made his Major League debut for the Blue Jays.
The Stony Brook, N.Y. native fared very well in his debut in the big leagues, allowing just two earned runs and four hits in 5.2 innings against the Rays in Tampa Bay. The left-hander tied a Blue Jays franchise record with eight strikeouts in his first game in the majors.
"It was probably the best I've felt in a really long time," Kay told reporters after the game. "I had good command of my changeup, curve, and everything. Really set me up success."
Anthony brought ALL the Kays 🔥@TonyBuckets18's 8 strikeouts match a franchise record for an @MLB debut! pic.twitter.com/A10YjlL3Do
- Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 8, 2019
The 24-year-old left the game with the Jays up 3-2, but the bullpen went on to blow that lead, taking away his first potential big-league victory.
Originally a first round pick by the Mets in the 2016 draft, Kay was dealt to Toronto along with prospect Simeon Woods-Richardson for Stroman and cash considerations.
Kay also said after the game that the Blue Jays organization has given him more freedom with his pitching, whereas the Mets pushed him much harder to make changes after tough outings.
"I feel like when I was in Syracuse with the Mets they were trying to change too many things because I had a couple rough starts," Kay said. "Once I got traded... (Toronto) told me to just do my thing."
