Back in the big leagues

Maple Hill High School graduate Jaime Schultz had an up-and-down week in the big leagues during his second call-up with the Tampa Bay Rays.

On Monday, Schultz was brought in during a game against the Detroit Tigers and gave up three runs, a hit and a walk without recording an out.

It was a drop off from his perfect first inning with the Rays earlier in the season when he made his MLB debut on May 8. In that outing, Schultz struck out all three batters he faced, something only 15 other pitchers in baseball history have done in their debut inning.

On Tuesday, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash went right back to the hard-throwing righty and Schultz was back to his old self, tossing two complete innings, striking out three and walking one without allowing a hit.

Schultz was sent down to Triple A Durham after his historic debut to make room for Nathan Eovaldi. When Chaz Roe went on the DL last weekend with a torn meniscus in his left knee, Schultz was brought back up.

The Rays were on a road trip when the former Patroon Conference All-Star was brought back up and he met up with the team at Citi Field to face the Mets.

According to mlb.com, Schultz grew up a Yankees fan, but his former coach at Maple Hill is a die-hard Mets fan. Rico Frese sent Schultz a text after hearing he got called up.

“He said, ‘Hope you pitch well, but Let’s Go Mets!’” Schultz told mlb.com.

Schultz didn’t appear in the game, which the Rays (48-45) won 9-0.

Schultz currently has six major league strikeouts on his ledger, with a 9.00 ERA in three innings of work.

This season in Durham, Schultz sports a 2-1 record with one save and 47 Ks. Lifetime in the minors, dating back to 2013, he has 544 strikeouts.