Well, at least he was economical.
With the Blue Jays trailing the Astros 3-2 in the seventh inning on Wednesday night in Toronto, manager John Schneider went to reliever Jose Cuas, who provided anything but relief.
The 30-year-old right-hander faced four batters, threw just three pitches, allowed two inherited runners to score, hit two batters and, simply put, had one bad outing.
Cuas intentionally walked the first batter he faced, Yordan Alvarez, given the Astros’ slugger had already hit a two-run double and two-run homer in the game.
On his first actual pitch, Cuas surrendered a two-run single to catcher Yainer Diaz, putting Toronto in a 5-2 hole.
With his second and third offerings, Cuas plunked outfielder Jake Meyers and shortstop Jeremy Pena.
He was promptly removed from the game, and Toronto went on to lose, 9-2.
Cuas’ outing was historic as he became the first pitcher in modern MLB history (since 1901) to hit two batters on three pitches thrown, according to SportsNet Stats.
It has been an improbable journey to the majors for the Brooklyn, New York, native Cuas, who was once an 11th-round pick of the Brewers as an infielder.
After struggling as a hitter, Cuas transitioned to the mound in 2018 and toiled in the minor and independent leagues, at one point taking a job as a FedEx driver while trying to reinvent himself as a pitcher.
“If I got to the big leagues, the last thing I thought is that it would be as a pitcher,” Cuas told The Post in 2022.
Cuas eventually made his MLB debut with the Royals as a pitcher and enjoyed a pair of solid seasons in 2022 and 2023.
Nevertheless, it has been a brutal 2024 campaign for Cuas as he began the year pitching to a 7.43 ERA across nine outings for the Cubs before being designated for assignment.
He was claimed off waivers by Toronto at the end of June and added to the roster after fellow reliever Tim Mayza was DFA’d.
All told, Cuas has posted an 8.22 ERA in 12 big league appearances this season.
