WASHINGTON — The bullpen door next to the right field foul pole swung open and out ran a reliever the same home crowd cheered for only two years earlier. Felipe Vazquez, still known by many at Nationals Park by his former surname, Rivero, trotted to the mound to a round of applause.
The Nationals gave up on Vazquez two years ago, sending him to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline in exchange for closer Mark Melancon. He's returned previously, but this was on one of the sport's grandest stages.
Vazquez, the Pirates' lone representative Tuesday night in MLB's 89th All-Star Game, proceeded to pitch a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts and a walk. Although it had little bearing on the outcome — a wild 8-6 victory in 10 innings for the American League in which a record 10 home runs were hit — the performance powerfully illustrated the same limitless potential Vazquez had when pitching here in a Nationals uniform.
"Wow," Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich told DKPittsburghSports.com afterward. "I'm used to seeing that guy now since we're in the same division, and it's definitely better to be on this side of it. One hundred from the left side is tough. It's never an easy at-bat. He showed that tonight."
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEOVazquez, who entered with the NL trailing 2-1, struck out Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland with a 99-mph fastball and got Indians catcher Yan Gomes to roll over on another 99-mph fastball for a quick ground out. With two outs, Vazquez got Indians outfielder Michael Brantley to hit a weak fly ball to left; however, Yelich lost the ball in the lights and it fell in for a single.
"I was tracking it fine, but I lost it there at the last second," Yelich said. "Those things happen. I felt bad, but we were joking about it afterwards."
Vazquez then walked Athletics infielder Jed Lowrie on seven pitches before striking out Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger looking with a slider on the outer half to end the inning. It was a snapshot of how Vazquez has evolved since making his debut here in April 17, 2015.
Coincidentally, the same starting pitcher was on the mound for both his big league and All-Star debuts. Max Scherzer, who allowed one run over two innings with four strikeouts Tuesday night, pitched eight innings with nine strikeouts back in 2015 when then-Nationals manager Matt Williams called upon a reliever known as Felipe Rivero to protect a six-run lead.
Rivero struck out out two, including one with a 99-mph fastball, but allowed one run on three hits. He was sent back to Triple-A following that outing and returned for good in June. Rivero posted a 0.95 WHIP in 48 1/3 innings in 2015 and that success carried over to 2016, when he held opponents to a batting average of .178 and .182 in April and May, respectively.
He then allowed 13 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings from June 4 to 18. Vazquez responded by allowing only two earned runs over his final 19 1/3 innings, but he was still dealt at the deadline. The Nationals, much like the Rays before them, gave up on that potential in favor of a more established player.
"They were in the hunt that year and they needed a closer," Vazquez said. "Looking back I think they pulled me a few games where I didn’t do good. It was like, ‘We have that guy, he throws hard, but we kind of need something else.’ I see it that way. They just needed something else, so they traded me to get Melancon since he was a closer. I can't hold it against them."
He showed his old fanbase what they've been missing. His fastball touched 100 mph, and his outing would have been quick had Yelich not lost the ball in the lights. But he ended up throwing 23 pitches, 14 for strikes, and had to break out his signature slider on Haniger to avoid disaster.
It came as no surprise to his new teammates. He's feared across the league, even by its very best, as Joey Votto described when sitting at his locker stall inside the home clubhouse. "He’s very intimidating," Votto said. "It’s not a fun at-bat. There are times when the game is ticking down and I look at the score, and I look at the lineup, I’ll start doing the math and think, ‘Oh, no, we’ll have to face him. Let’s score some runs here so I don’t have to face him.' He's overwhelming."
That wasn't the case even one month ago. The 27-year-old blew four of five save opportunities in an 11-day span from May 20 through the 31st. His ERA ballooned to 4.84 and he had allowed 12 hits in 3 2/3 innings, including a walk-off grand slam in St. Louis on May 31st.
Vazquez, though, made an adjustment to stop tipping his pitches and finished the first half with 15 consecutive scoreless appearances, including six saves in a pivotal final week for the Pirates. He's allowed two earned runs over his last 19 innings, striking out 34. He’s converted 13 consecutive saves, and he hasn’t walked a batter in 14 of his last 15 appearances. His 23 saves rank fifth in the NL and his 44 over the past two seasons are the most by a lefty in franchise history, helping him earn his first All-Star nod:
The difference: Vazquez is throwing his slider again, a pitch Votto considers among the best in the game. That same pitch that propelled him through the minor leagues. Vazquez, signed by the Rays at 17 years old in 2008, made his rookie league debut in 2010 and participated in the Futures Game in 2012.
Vazquez, then a starting pitcher, was traded to the Nationals in 2014 and converted to a reliever the following season. He pitched only 6 2/3 innings in Triple-A before finding a home in the nation's capital. However, he could never secure a late-inning role in a bullpen in desperate need of a closer.
"I’m just a more mature guy," Vazquez said. "Probably my first two years I was allowing the hitters to get into my head,. I was a rookie, I hadn’t seen those hitters before. Now you’re facing them. ... Last year I said, ‘Screw it, I’m going to be me and throw my pitches in the zone. If they hit it, they hit it.’"
He did that yet again Tuesday night. Yelich's home run tied it later in the seventh, but Brewers lefty Josh Hader allowed a three-run homer to the Mariners' Jean Segura in the eighth. Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett hit a two-run game-tying homer in the ninth, only for the AL to pile on three in the 10th, including solo home runs by the Astros' Alex Bregman and George Springer.
Vazquez was one of nine NL pitchers to appear in the game, and he wanted to use this stage to show the rest of the league what he's become.
"It’s more of a show-and-go kind of day," he said, smiling.