One perfect inning of relief Wednesday night did nothing more than lower Drew Pomeranz’s ERA to 7.71. And his appearance for the Dodgers’ Triple A affiliate in Oklahoma City came with the Sacramento River Cats batting in the eighth inning and leading 4-1 at Sutter Health Park. Pomeranz should have been handed a mop on his way to the mound.
Oklahoma City did not score after Drew Avans led off with a homer, so there was little chance of a comeback. And there was also little interest in a rally because several fans, including those wearing Dodgers shirts and caps, were already on their way home. The attendance was announced as 4,293, but you could have bet a foul ball would hit an empty seat and won.
Pomeranz was a National League All-Star with the San Diego Padres in 1916. The left-hander earned a World Series ring in 2018 with the Boston Red Sox. And here he was Wednesday night, closing out a loss with his seventh inning of work in seven appearances this season. That is a far cry from his total of 62 starts and 340.1 innings in 2016-17.
At least his wife Carolyn, 3-year-old son Tate and in-laws were on hand until the end because they were obligated to stay. Carolyn took advantage of her husband’s six-day stay in Sacramento to visit her parents in Orinda and bring them to the game Wednesday. Tate enjoyed a cup of ice cream and was entertained by Dinger, the River Cats mascot.
The 35-year-old Pomeranz has not pitched in the major leagues since 2021 when he appeared in 27 games with the Padres. He has pitched for seven major-league teams, including the A’s and Giants, but not the one that drafted him. The Indians selected Pomeranz with the fifth overall pick in 2010 and then traded him to the Rockies in August 2011.
His major-league debut came a month later and he earned the victory by allowing two hits in five scoreless innings as the Rockies beat the Reds 4-1. Pomeranz was traded in December 2013 to the A’s and optioned in July 2014 to Sacramento when the team was the A’s Triple A affiliate. The A’s then traded Pomeranz to the Padres five months later.
That proved fortuitous for Pomeranz. Not only was he voted to the NL All-Star team in 2016, but he also pitched a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game in front of a partisan Padres crowd at Petco Park. The All-Star excitement did not last long, however. When the season resumed after the three-day break, Pomeranz had to pack his bags after being shipped to the Red Sox.
Pormeranz appeared in 26 games, including 11 starts, in 2018 when the Red Sox won their ninth world championship. This is his 14th professional season and could turn out to be his third in a row without any major-league action. None of that seemed to matter Wednesday as Pomeranz held his son as Tate stood on a railing along the right-field foul line.
The thought of Tate watching his father pitch in the majors will drive Pomeranz even though he is nearly out of gas after appearing in 369 games, making 204 starts and pitching 1,191.2 innings.