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Two former Wild Things receive MLB callups

By Chris Dugan 3 min read
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June has already been a good month for Wild Things present and past.

The current edition of the Wild Things has surged back to the top of the Frontier League’s West Division. Washington entered a series finale Thursday night against the Gateway Grizzlies one game ahead of Lake Erie and Schaumburg.

As for past Wild Things, Washington has had two former players receive callups to the major leagues this month. Pitcher James Meeker had a one-day promotion from Class AAA by the Milwaukee Brewers. Meeker pitched one scoreless inning in his major-league debut before being sent back to Triple-A the next day. The Brewers kept Meeker on their 40-man roster for several days before he was outrighted to the minors. Meeker cleared waivers and is back with Nashville.

On Sunday, former Wild Things pitcher Spencer Bivens was promoted from Class AAA Sacramento, where he was 4-0 with a 2.81 ERA, to the San Francisco Giants. Bivens was the winning pitcher in his major-league debut, throwing three innings of relief in the Giants’ 13-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. He allowed one hit and one run. He struck out four and did not walk a batter.

Three days later, Bivens was back on the mound with different results. He pitched two innings in a loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday at Wrigley Field. Bivens was the losing pitcher in the game and has a 1-1 after being in the major leagues for four days.

Bivens, who is from State College, spent parts of two summers in Washington. He played during the pandemic summer in a four-team league at Wild Things Park, then with the Wild Things in 2021, when he had an 0-1 record and 7.24 before being released in July.

He pitched in the independent Atlantic League for the remainder of 2021 before adding about 25 pounds during the winter to his frame and being signed by the Giants for 2022.

Bivens was informed of his promotion Saturday night as Sacramento was playing in Reno.

“I was caught off guard, to say the least,” Bivens told reporters. “It was in the middle of our game, during a time when I thought I’d be warming up. It was an awesome surprise.”

Bivens was the Pitcher of the Month for May in the Pacific Coast League.

Meeker was the fifth, and Bivens the sixth, former Wild Things player to go on to the major leagues. All six Washington-to-the-majors players have been pitchers.

Homeless

Gateway will be playing two home games in August at neutral sites and in former Frontier League cities.

Gateway will play Lake Erie Aug. 13 in Springfield, Ill., and face Florence Aug. 20 in O’Fallon, Mo, the former home of the River City Rascals. Springfield was home to the Capitals from 1996 until 2001.

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