Vype
The similarities between Cavan and his father were eerily close.
Originally Appeared on VYPE
It has been a long time since Bob Ford's booming voice over the sound system at Minute Maid Park has mentioned the iconic name Biggio during a starting lineup read.
With the Toronto Blue Jays in town to open a three-game series on Friday, for the first time since 2007 he got the chance to do it again - this time for Hall of Famer Craig Biggio's son Cavan.
"My first at-bat I felt a little emotional just because the announcer's voice I've heard his voice so many times announcing Biggio, so it was pretty cool," Biggio said following a 1-for-4 night.
The similarities between Cavan and his father were eerily close.
"At the end of the day it's Biggio leading off, playing second in Minute Maid Park," Biggio said. "So, overall it's really cool and a great experience for me and my family."
After striking out his first two at-bats against Gerrit Cole, Biggio finally connected with a pitch in the fifth driving it to dead center field and banging it off the wall for his first career double.
As Cavan stood on second, just feet away from where him and his brother Conor rushed out to years ago to be hoisted up by their dad after his 3,000th career hit, the 34,000-plus in attendance gave him an ovation.
Read more about Cavan's home coming here
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Astros stumble again as Braves complete gut-wrenching series sweep
Apr 17, 2024, 4:51 pm
Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander will make his season debut Friday night at the Washington Nationals.
Houston manager Joe Espada made the announcement Wednesday.
“Getting him back is huge because it brings a level of confidence to our team, a boost of confidence that we’re going to get someone who’s been an MVP, a Cy Young (winner) on the mound,” Espada said. “It's (good) for the morale and to get stuff started and moving in the right direction.”
The three-time Cy Young Award winner opened the season on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder. He made two rehabilitation starts, the first for Triple-A Sugar Land on April 7 before Saturday’s start for Double-A Corpus Christi.
Espada wouldn't say how many pitches the 41-year-old would be limited to but said they'll keep an eye on his workload.
“We've got to be careful how hard we push him early,” Espada said. “I know he’s going to want to go and stay out there and give us an opportunity to win, but we've got to be cautious of how hard we push him early in the season.”
Verlander wasn’t thrilled with the results in his rehabilitation starts, but he said Monday that those games were valuable in getting him prepared to come off the IL.
He allowed seven hits and six runs — five earned — in four innings against Frisco on Saturday. He struck out three, walked one and threw 51 of 77 pitches for strikes.
Verlander allowed six earned runs and struck out six while pitching into the fourth inning for Sugar Land on April 7.
The Astros have gotten off to a tough start with Verlander and fellow starters Framber Valdez and José Urquidy on the injured list. They enter Wednesday's games last in the AL West with a 6-13 record.
Espada hopes Verlander can be the boost the team needs to get on track.
“It’s good to get him back in the rotation,” Espada said. “With what he means to this club just to get him back on track, getting some innings from him (to) build our rotation with the pieces that we need to move forward is exciting.”