When reliever Wesley Wright went on the Baltimore disabled list last weekend, for two days Eddie Gamboa lived The Dream.
But the former UC Davis pitcher (now 30) saw no action Saturday or Sunday after being called up from Triple-A Norfolk by the Orioles.
Less than 48 hours after hustling to Camden Yards for Saturday night’s 7-1 O’s win over Toronto, Gamboa headed back to the minors.
The Orioles reinstated outfielder David Lough from the 15-day disabled list late Sunday, necessitating Gamboa’s demotion.
Wasting no time in his continuing effort to prove himself worthy of extended MLB duty, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound right-hander went five innings on Monday during his regular turn in the Norfolk rotation against Gwinnett (Georgia).
Gamboa allowed three earned runs, five hits, struck out four and walked three in his first appearance of 2015 for the Tides. Gamboa had no decision as the Braves won, 4-3, in 10 innings.
Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said the weekend moves were “kind of in-and-out” safety-valve transactions, adding that Gamboa knew that.
Despite Baltimore using five pitchers in a 10-7 Sunday loss to the Blue Jays, Gamboa didn’t get the call to the mound.
Gamboa told the Baltimore Sun that he was “there for these kind of situations … I’ll do whatever they need to try and help this team win.”
Gamboa is part of the Orioles’ 40-man roster and has yet to make his Major League debut.
The former Merced High fireballer was taken in the 21st round of the MLB draft. In the past 18 months, Gamboa has worked to reinvent himself as a knuckleball pitcher. In seven minor league seasons, Gamboa is 42-41 with a 3.44 earned run average.
At UCD, Gamboa was 13-6 with a 3.03 ERA. He was an Aggie teammate to both Daniel Descalso (Colorado) and Ty Kelly (Triple-A Memphis of the St. Louis Cardinals farm system).