At long last, Burgamy debuts at Triple-A

Brian Burgamy played 1,461 professional baseball games, 823 in the Minor Leagues, before he first stepped onto a Triple-A field. Even with a hitless debut, the 33-year-old has finally arrived on the tallest Minor League peak.

And while Burgamy didn't register a hit in his four at-bats on Saturday night, his Triple-A Oklahoma City club used a big first inning to cruise to a 6-1 win over Omaha at Werner Park.

Originally selected by the Padres in the ninth round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Burgamy climbed through four levels in his first four seasons, reaching Double-A by the age of 24. His rise stalled there, however. After stints in the Phillies and Mets systems, Burgamy wandered through the baseball wilderness in independent leagues, the Australian Baseball League and summer and winter leagues in Mexico. Signed by the Dodgers as a Minor League free agent, he earned his first Triple-A call this week.

Gameday box score

"It's been kind of fast-paced. Everything's happened really fast, but it's a very good thing," he said. "When I found out a couple days ago, it was kind of a deep exhale. It was something that I've been shooting for for a very long time, obviously. Hopefully I can continue to play well here now that I've gotten here. It's not just getting to a spot, it's playing well where you're at and going up the ladder."

Burgamy did just that with Double-A Tulsa to earn his promotion. In 25 games to start the season, the Lawton, Oklahoma, native batted .341/.438/.598 with five homers and eight RBIs.

"I started back in Double-A and I just had to keep improving," he said. "Especially at my age, you have to prove to each organization that you can still play, you can still do it. With the Dodgers, I was just thankful for the opportunity to show them that I can still play at a high level."

In four trips to the plate in his Pacific Coast League debut, Burgamy struck out and flied out before fanning two more times. The Dodgers' DH reached on a dropped third strike in his final at-bat but was erased on a force play.

"Four at-bats is just four at-bats," he said. "It's the type of thing that's really not your season. You just have to hope after a rough outing, you bounce back the next day and play better.

"Everyone thinks [Triple-A] is a little bit smoother game, a little bit faster. Pitch-wise, it was nothing I haven't seen before. It was just a rough outing with it. It's one of those things that I have to work on and, hopefully, I'll see better results."

The Dodgers got all six of their runs in the opening inning when every member of the lineup came to the plate. Scott Schebler, the organization's ninth-ranked prospect, highlighted the frame with a three-run blast. Oklahoma City made efficient use of its seven hits, going 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Burgamy is letting the even-keeled mind-set a 14-year career has instilled in him pave the way.

"I've played long enough to understand that one game is one game," he said. "Everyone wants to play well every game; you want to go 4-for-4 every day. That's just how you play baseball, but that's not going to happen in this game. You have to take the good with the bad and the bad with the good and battle back."

Randy Fontanez (1-0) turned in a near-perfect effort for the Dodgers, allowing one hit and striking out four without issuing a walk over five innings to pick up his first Triple-A win.