It was certainly a big deal for Drabek, who discussed his first appearance against his former team beforehand with his father, Doug, the former major-league pitcher who won a Cy Young Award with Pittsburgh in 1990.
"I told him I was pitching against [the Phillies], and he just told me it was just another team," Kyle Drabek said. "He goes, 'Don't get too excited; just go out there and pitch and don't try to overdo anything.' That's what I tried to go out and do."
So it was just another game?
"Definitely not," Drabek said. "I think this one kind of meant more because it was against the team that traded me."
Nevertheless, he managed to throw two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk in the process. It may have helped Drabek that he didn't know he was going to make his first Grapefruit League start for the Blue Jays until just before the game started.
"Lance Broadway was supposed to start," Drabek said. "He came out to stretch, and he was like, 'Aren't you supposed to be starting today?' I had no idea. I was real confused."
Blue Jays pitching coach Bruce Walton told Drabek he was indeed starting.
Drabek, 22, realized this was going to be a little different as soon as he headed to the mound for the first time against the organization that employed him for the first four years of his professional career. He couldn't help but make eye contact with Mike Zagurski, his close friend and former teammate with the Reading Phillies.
"Walking out to the mound . . . I'm looking straight into the Phillies' bullpen, and I see Zagurski, so I give him a little wave," Drabek said.
Drabek bumped into one of the Phillies' best hitters Tuesday night while eating dinner in a Clearwater restaurant.
