Drew Maggi gets 1st big league hits, RBI after 13 years in minors - ESPN

WASHINGTON — Drew Maggi got his first two major league hits Saturday night, three days after making his big league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates following 13 years in the minor leagues, in the Pirates' 16-1 rout of the Washington Nationals that concluded a day-night doubleheader sweep.

The 33-year-old lined a 2-2 splitter from Hobie Harris into center field for an RBI single in the seventh inning, boosting the Pirates' lead to 13-0.

«Just trying to breathe and look for a pitch I could hit,» said Maggi, who was optioned to Double-A Altoona on Saturday morning and was appointed Pittsburgh's 27th man for the doubleheader, necessitated by Friday's rainout.

«Not trying to do too much. It was like the perfect hit too, cause I saw it go right through the middle and it's so vivid in my mind right now,» he said. «I was so happy I got it done, got that weight lifted off my shoulders.»

Knowing he was playing his final game before being sent down, Maggi was determined not to waste an at-bat and fouled off a pair of 2-2 pitches before making solid contact.

«It was kind of like it was do or die here,» he said. «I know, of all people, that this can end very quickly. Who knows where it goes from here. Maybe I never get back up here and that was it. That was going through my head the whole day, so it was kind of like, 'You know what? I'm swinging. I'm going out hacking.'»

Fans at Nationals Park chanted Maggi's name during and after the at-bat and again when he came off the field at the end of the half inning. His teammates cheered from the railing of the dugout.

«I think everybody in that dugout has played baseball for a long time and they know what he's put into it, and the fact that he got a hit was really cool,» Pirates manager