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If you missed Tuesday night’s game between the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks, consider yourself lucky. It wasn’t a great way to spend your evening.
For the most part.
But if you spent the night doing something other than watching the Giants lose, then you missed the memorable debut of right-handed relief pitcher Tyler Rogers.
Rogers, who was drafted by the Giants in the 10th round in 2013, was called up before the game (along with Joey Rickard and Mauricio Dubon), and got the nod for the eighth inning of a 3-1 game. His submarine funk mowed down the side, prompting enormous cheers from the stands, and a love song from Duane Kuiper.
[Insert submarine emoji here.]
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) August 28, 2019
#SFGiants pic.twitter.com/Jx9zlTmMOY
Now let’s get one thing straight. The Giants do debuts wonderfully. They take care of a debuting player’s family, making sure to get them to and from the game. They make everything perfect for a once-in-a-lifetime family moment.
But even beyond that, this was a special night for the Rogers family. Mere moments before Tyler debuted, his twin brother Taylor took the mound for the Minnesota Twins (following former Giants Sam Dyson and Sergio Romo, no less), and earned a save.
The timing was so perfect that the family was able to watch Taylor’s save on their phones at Oracle Park, before looking up and watching Tyler’s debut. And Taylor was able to make it back to the dugout to see his brother’s special moment.
Scott Rogers sat in the stands in SF and watched on his phone as one of his twin sons, Taylor, saved the game for Minnesota. Then he looked up and watched his other twin son, Tyler, pitch a perfect inning in his major league debut. "It's a dream come true," the fire chief said.
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) August 28, 2019
Scott Rogers said he was relieved when Taylor got the save quickly. As cool as it would've been for the twins to be pitching at the same time, it was more important to the family that Taylor could be in front of a TV to watch Tyler's debut. "He's Tyler's biggest fan," Scott said.
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) August 28, 2019
After helping the Twins shut the door on the Chicago White Sox, Taylor was asked about getting the call from Tyler. It was pretty clearly an emotional moment for the brothers.
There is a special bond between identical twins, I've seen it first hand w/my Dad & his twin, Marty. Love how emotional Taylor Rogers gets discussing the call from twin & @SFGiants Tyler Rogers, who finally got called up after nearly 4 seasons at AAA! pic.twitter.com/IQbGlJFegr
— Kelli Johnson (@KJohnsonNBCS) August 28, 2019
It’s abundantly clear that Tyler is adored by those who share a field and clubhouse with him, and his debut certainly felt a little bit more powerful than the average one.
Guys get called up a lot throughout the year, and it’s always a big moment in the clubhouse. With that being said though, I have NEVER seen a clubhouse happier than ours was today when we found out Rog was going up. #LongTimeComing #BeLikeRog #RogRakes https://t.co/SJVkARRV3D
— Chris Shaw (@SHAWESOME24) August 28, 2019
It’s safe to say the Rogers family won’t be forgetting Tuesday night anytime soon.