Brendan Becks long-awaited big league debut with Yankees felt like a dream

Brendan Beck could have stopped playing long before Thursday arrived. A second-round pick out of Stanford in 2021, he did not make his professional debut until 2023 because of Tommy John surgery.He pitched in just 10 games that season before a follow-up elbow procedure was required, which erased his entire 2024 season, too.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.

The 2025 campaign became the breakthrough, when the right-hander ascended all the way to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.And Thursday was the pinnacle, when he became a major league pitcher. Beck was called up for his moment and for a Yankees victory, contributing three-plus innings in which he allowed two runs in a 9-2 win over the Rangers in The Bronx. “You always want it to happen, and you think it’s going to happen,” the 27-year-old from Southern California said.

“When it actually does, it’s still a dream.” The Yankees knew before Wednesday’s game that Ryan Weathers, who had been sick, would be scratched from Thursday’s start.Beck, who had been up and down with SWB but was coming off a strong effort, was lined up to pitch Thursday.

So after an afternoon game in Worcester, Mass., on Wednesday, the Yankees told Beck to be ready depending upon the night’s events. As it turned out, Will Warren lasted four innings, and Yerry De los Santos, who could be and would be optioned, was needed for long relief.Thus Beck was the best choice as a bulk pitcher, and SWB manager Shelley Duncan delivered the news in a hotel lobby. Beck packed his bag and had hopped in a car destined for New York by about 9:30 p.m.

His wife, who was in Scranton, raced to the city.His parents, sister and brother — Tristan, who is in the Giants organization — all made red-eye flights from California to see the No.

21 Yankees prospect make his debut. Following opener Paul Blackburn, Beck let up a lot of hard ...