Christian Bethancourt was filled with nerves as he warmed up, partly because he had no idea what to expect.
Bethancourt figures the last time he pitched to live hitters, he was 13 or 14 years old. Now, the catcher-turned-outfielder was standing on the mound in Seattle, tasked with saving some bullpen arms while the San Diego Padres slogged through a 16-4 loss to the Mariners on Tuesday.
So when Bethancourt's first pitch flashed 92 mph on the stadium radar gun, he took a long look. And what followed for five batters gave San Diego something to chuckle about on an otherwise forgettable day.
"It was fun for us to watch him pitch. We definitely don't want to be in that situation, but I think he brought some fire to the game," Padres Manager Andy Green said.
Bethancourt became the fifth player in basebal to play catcher, left field, second base and pitch in the same game. In the four prior instances, the player involved played every position during the game.
But what will be remembered were Bethancourt's 26 pitches in the eighth inning, when he touched 96 mph with no real pitching mechanics and tossed in everything from a 53 mph changeup, a knuckleball and a slider that plunked Seth Smith.
Bethancourt got two outs before being replaced by shortstop Alexi Amarista, who needed just one pitch to get Shawn O'Malley to ground out for the final out of the inning.
"It was definitely fun. It was something a lot of position players want to do at some point, just to get out there and see how it feels and experience it," Bethancourt said. "I know it's not easy to throw strikes now, but it was definitely fun."
Seattle hit five home runs and led 16-0 after five innings when Adam Lind hit Seattle's third three-run home run. Seattle scored its most runs since scoring 21 against Texas in 2012.
"Our guys are just having a good at-bat," Seattle Manager Scott Servais said. "You're not always going to get hits. It's not always going to work out that way but today, a number of times it certainly did."
What's the odds?
The NBA Finals are giving oddsmakers a lot of material.
Much has been said about Golden State's Stephen Curry and Cleveland's LeBron James, and three-point shooting will be as big a factor as the superstar matchup.
There's also intrigue surrounding Golden State's Draymond Green, who kicked Oklahoma City center Steven Adams in Game 3 of the Western Conference final. Green, who has three flagrant fouls in the playoffs, was fined $25,000 but wasn't suspended.
Leaving no stone unturned, oddsmakers at SportsBettingDime.com are giving 12-1 odds that Green similarly kicks a Cavaliers player during the Finals.
As for the big picture, the website has 5-2 odds that Golden State will repeat as champions in six games. They also have 11-10 odds for someone to break San Antonio Spurs guard Dany Green's record of 27 three-pointers made in a series, an over/under of 51.5 combined three-pointers for Curry and Klay Thompson, 79.5 on the over/under for total three-pointers made by the Cavaliers in the series and an over/under of 30.5 feet on the longest shot Curry makes in the series.
The odds that Curry will play in at least one Finals game without making a three-pointer are 125-1.
Sports quiz
While in the minor leagues, how many times did Christian Bethancourt play in the All-Star Futures Game?
Answer
Three (2012-2014).
Sports on 06/03/2016