MINNEAPOLIS – Former Binghamton starting pitcher Scott Diamond has been called up by the Minnesota Twins and will make his Major League debut in the nightcap of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians tonight at Target Field at 8:05 p.m.(EDT),
Diamond, a 6-foot-3 lefthander, will become the first former Binghamton player to reach the major leagues and joins fellow Twin Joe Nathan (Stony Brook) and the Cubs' Carlos Pena (Northeastern) as former America East players currently in the big leagues. He was added to the 40-man roster and recalled to the Twins when Scott Baker was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday. He was 4-8 with a 4.70 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 17 starts with AAA Rochester this season before his recall.
After a solid four-year tenure with the Atlanta Braves organization, Diamond was selected by the Twins with the 27th pick in the Rule 5 Draft in December and permanetly acquired by the Twins via trade in March. In 93 career minor league games, Diamond went 32-28 with a 3.52 ERA and racked up 425 strikeouts against just 176 walks in 534 1/3 innings.
Diamond's debut comes at a crucial time for Minnesota. The Twins currently trail the Indians by just five games in the American League Central Division race despite being 16.5 games back on June 1.
"We'll give him (Diamond) a chance to kind of regroup, sit around here, see what's it's all about, get a feel for a few more things," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said yesterday. "We're facing the Cleveland Indians and he's being thrown into the fire here so we'll see how he does. He's a nice-looking young pitcher."
In three seasons at Binghamton (2005-07), Diamond totalled 14 wins and started 37 games, the most starts of any Binghamton pitcher in that span, and was an America East All-Rookie selection in 2005.
"I'm so excited for and proud of Scott," Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki said. "This opportunity is a testament to all his hard work and preparation."
Information from Binghamton Athletic Communications was used in this report.