Scranton’s Mason Black set to make ‘storybook’ MLB debut in Philly

PHILADELPHIA — Like many of us, Mason Black remembers the first ballgame he attended. He wasn’t yet 10 years old when his family made the 2-hour trek from their northeastern Pennsylvania home to Citizens Bank Park. They sat in right field, part of Pat Burrell’s cheering section.

On Monday, more than a decade later, Black will be a little further away from those outfield seats.

The 24-year-old right-hander from Scranton will toe the rubber sometime after 4:05 p.m. local time and throw the first pitch of his major-league career in the ballpark where he nurtured a nascent love for the sport.

“I would say it’s kind of a storybook tale there,” Black said Sunday afternoon at his visitor’s clubhouse locker. “Being so close to home, hopefully having a chance to have a lot of people come out and see, it’s really exciting. … I have good memories here.”

Black will be the fourth option the Giants have used to cover Blake Snell’s vacant spot in the starting rotation. They are 0-6 in those turns through the rotation, outscored 55-12, but if his performance through the first month of the season at Triple-A Sacramento is any indication, it’s reasonable to hope those results will turn around.

When he stepped foot in his childhood ballpark Sunday, it had been exactly three weeks since he last allowed an earned run.

In six starts for the River Cats, Black possesses a 1.01 ERA — the best of any qualified starter in the Pacific Coast League — while limiting opponents to a .178 batting average with 29 strikeouts to eight walks over 26⅔ innings.

“You look at the numbers,” manager Bob Melvin said. “There’s only so much you can go on at Triple-A. It’s a whole different deal here in the big leagues. But he definitely deserves it based on what he’s done at Triple-A.

“It seems like times in baseball, things play out in a way baseball does. To be able to come here and get his first start, it’s not the easiest opponent in the world, but I think he’s just kind of insulated in ‘I’m a big leaguer now,’ go out there and do his thing, stay with his strengths. He’s been pitching pretty well. Tomorrow will be a very, very special day for him.”

At a minimum, Black will have his mom, Tara, and dad, George, in attendance Monday, along with his girlfriend, who lives in Philadelphia. Realistically, Black’s cheering section will be much larger than that. When he relayed the news to his family on Saturday, Black said, “My mom was definitely very emotional. My dad couldn’t believe it. Just everyone trying to manage their emotions here.”

Black should have a familiar target behind the plate, whether it is Blake Sabol or Jakson Reetz.

Both catchers spent most of the season with him in Sacramento until each was forced on to redeye flights across the country the past two nights. With Patrick Bailey (concussion) and Tom Murphy (knee) landing on the injured list, the River Cats’ catching combo is now the Giants’.

Black “has come a long way since last year,” said Reetz, who joined Sacramento midway through last season as a minor-league free agent. “I think he’s just got that confidence. He definitely showed signs last year where he was very dominant, but the confidence this year, he’s just a completely different guy.”

Black was on his way to medical school when the Giants made him the highest drafted player ever out of Lehigh University, selecting him 85th overall in 2021. The righty approaches hitters with a five-pitch mix, though his four-seamer — which sits in the low-90s — and sweeper have been his best offerings against Triple-A hitters.

“You can go out there and attack hitters at that level,” Black said of the difference from his Triple-A debut in the second half of last season. “You don’t have to tiptoe around them like I did last year. It was good getting in there and just attacking them with my stuff.”

Murphy to IL

As Black addressed reporters at his locker, two players occupied the black leather armchairs in the middle of the room.

Bailey, with a hood over his head, and Murphy, with his left knee wrapped in athletic tape, sat side-by-side as the hustle and bustle of pregame preparation took place around them. The two injured backstops had no game to prepare for, only their health to worry about.

By the time reporters departed the clubhouse, Murphy had traded in the athletic tape for a black brace that extended from the middle of his shin up to his thigh, immobilizing the left knee he sprained while blocking a pitch in the dirt Saturday night.

The Giants are still assessing the severity of his injury, but they knew enough Sunday to place him on the 10-day injured list. Murphy underwent imaging on his knee but hadn’t met with doctors to discuss the results. By definition, a sprain means a torn ligament, which in the knee could mean an ACL, MCL, LCL or PCL.

“This is just an initial look, from what I was told,” Melvin said. “I think we’ll have more details later on. We’ll see. I think they’re going to compare some MRIs from the past so that we have some more information.”

On the bright side, Bailey was “feeling better,” two days since suffering a concussion, Melvin said.

“The last couple days, each day has seemed to get better,” Melvin said. “I don’t want to say turned a corner today, but he looked like he was in a little better spirits today.”