KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Pitcher Duncan Davitt has worked as a freelance sports reporter for his parents’ publication, the Indianola (Iowa) Independent Advocate, including covering local high school athletics during the offseason.
Davitt will have plenty to write about after making his major-league debut Friday against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
He walked one during a scoreless inning of work in the 2-0 loss.
“Sitting in the dugout afterward and I was going to meet some family and sitting out there and seeing the fireworks, it’s a feeling unmatched,” Davitt said. “You can’t get anything better.”
Davitt entered in the eighth inning Friday. He walked the first batter he faced, Kyle Isbel, but got Maikel Garcia to ground into a double play that began with a nice fielding play by shortstop Colson Montgomery. The inning wrapped up with Davitt getting Bobby Witt Jr. to fly out to center field.
“It was really good,” manager Will Venable said of Davitt’s inning. “Nice defense behind him there. Got the outs when he needed to. Nice clean inning.”
The right-hander joined the big-league club Thursday, getting called up from Triple-A Charlotte.
“Once you get through that first batter, it’s OK, it’s still the same game,” Davitt said. “You get the first foul ball where they’re not actually on everything, it’s OK, this stuff can play here. The stuff is good enough, I’m good enough to be here.
“You kind of start settling after the first couple of pitches and especially after the first batter.”
He added about the opportunity to face Garcia and Witt in his first outing: “There’s something to be said about being forged in fire, so if you go through those two guys and manage to come out unscathed, it’s a nice learning experience and ‘OK, I can do this’ kind of a moment.”
Davitt, 26, resides in Indianola, which is around 2½ hours away from Kansas City. He went to the park several times when he was younger.
“I’m not going to lie, I tried to keep my eyes from going up into the stands, just because it’s a lot bigger venue than most of the places down in the minor leagues,” Davitt said of making the journey from the bullpen to the mound. “But the eyes went up anyway, kind of soaking in the moment for a second and realized where I’m at and what I’m doing and who all is here to support me and kind of living in the moment for a minute and locking in once the inning starts.”
Davitt is headed back to Charlotte as part of an anticipated roster shuffle Sunday, Venable said after Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the Royals. Jonathan Cannon will return from Triple A to serve as the bulk pitcher Sunday, with Grant Taylor in line to be the opener
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.The Sox acquired Davitt as part of a trade that sent pitcher Adrian Houser to the Tampa Bay Rays in July. He made two starts with Charlotte this season, going 0-1 with a 7.88 ERA and 11 strikeouts in eight innings.
“They’ve done a really good job of just letting me be me,” Davitt said of his time in the Sox organization. “I got up to Triple A with the Rays and obviously something was working there. They really wanted to learn what it was that’s working and let me kind of blossom and learn from them.
“As far as changes, they really like the sweeper so I’ve thrown that a little bit more often. We’ve kind of overhauled the changeup grip, and the changeup has been fantastic to start the year so far down in Triple-A.”
Davitt wrote about getting the call-up for the Independent Advocate, putting the piece together while on the plane to Kansas City.
“It was something I wrote (Wednesday) night in the heat of the moment,” Davitt said Thursday. “It was one of those things, I could write it, be ready for it, but also if I write it (beforehand), I’m going to jinx it and I’m not going to get up here. So I figured I’d maybe hold off until I was in the emotions and could write something that’s a little bit more from the heart.”
Davitt has enjoyed lending a hand with the high school coverage, which has mostly been basketball and volleyball.
“A lot of the time you get to see a lot of really good high school players that don’t always get as much attention as obviously some big-league guys,” he said. “It’s fun to go see some of the up and coming people that are coming through small high schools in Iowa.”
As for a follow-up to Thursday’s column, Davitt joked Friday about not making a mythical deadline.
“Yes, I don’t think my mom is going to be able to post anything tonight for me,” Davitt said. “I think missed deadline is a good way to put it. I’m sure there’s something coming down eventually.”
He didn’t have a specific headline in mind to match the evening.
“The only (headline) she’s ever taken was the one from the call-up, that’s the only one she’s ever taken my suggestion on,” Davitt said. “I don’t know, I think I’ll let her decide on that one. Let the boss decide.”