Corey Knebel made his major league debut

Corey Knebel made his major league debut with the Detroit Tigers on Saturday during the 12-2 loss against the Texas Rangers.

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Knebel was called up from Triple-A Toledo on Thursday. He relieved Rick Porcello in the sixth inning. Knebel said after the game that he let his nerves get the best of him. Despite this, manager Brad Ausmus defended him saying:

"“I didn’t think he was overamped. He didn’t seem to be panting or sweating profusely.”"

Knebel had some problems with his curveball throughout the game.

"“You have know when to throw one (curve) for a strike and to throw one that goes in and out of the zone,” catcher Alex Avila said. “That will be important for him.”"

In response to the loss, Knebel stayed positive and plans to concentrate on bettering his play.

"“There were a lot of things that went wrong with that at-bat,” Knebel said. “Next time, I’ll make my pitches earlier in the count. I came in here and it was a little tough. I just have to tell myself not to think about what happened. It’s all in the past. I’ll still come in here tomorrow with a smile on my face.”"

Former teammates at Low-A West Michigan tuned in to support Knebel in his debut. Ben Verlander tweeted the following:

Knowing he has that type of support from those in his life will be a stellar thought to keep in mind when rebounding from Saturday’s loss.