Historic debut buoys Arencibia

It's not often when reality trumps fantasy, but that was the case when 51s catcher J.P. Arencibia made his historic major league debut with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Arencibia homered on the first pitch he saw -- a 93 mph fastball from Tampa Bay's James Shields -- and finished 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double, three RBIs and three runs in Toronto's 17-11 home rout of the Rays on Aug. 7.

"I felt like I had been ready to play up there … but I never could have imagined that kind of debut," said the 24-year-old Arencibia, who was optioned back to Las Vegas on Saturday and went 0-for-4 in the 51s' 4-2 loss to the Portland Beavers at Cashman Field. He was ejected in the ninth inning after arguing a called third strike.

Arencibia became the first player since 1889 to compile two home runs and four hits in his big league debut and is the fifth player to homer twice in his debut.

He's also the first Blue Jays player to get four hits in his first game and was the first Toronto player in 21 years to homer in his first career at-bat.

Arencibia said he hadn't planned to swing at the first pitch. "I just went up there and got ready, and it happened," he said.

He doubled in his second at-bat and singled in his third at-bat, leaving him a triple shy of the cycle.

"Triples are hard for me, so I was not thinking about (the cycle)," said Arencibia, who has one triple and 32 doubles this season for the 51s. "It was the same approach: get ready and get a pitch I could hit."

That approach worked to perfection again as Arencibia cracked his second homer of the game, this one to right field, on the first pitch of his fourth at-bat.

The crowd of 24,168 gave him a standing ovation, and he obliged it with a curtain call.

"It was crazy," he said. "I had chills in every at-bat."

With chants of "J-P!, J-P!" ringing in his ears during his final plate appearance in the seventh inning, Arencibia popped out in foul territory, ending his dream debut.

He went 0-for-15 after his 4-for-4 start before snapping the slide with an RBI single in the ninth inning of Toronto's 5-4 loss Wednesday to the Oakland Athletics.

"I was 0-for-15, but I was having good at-bats and taking good swings," Arencibia said. "It's just one of those things where you can hit the ball hard and have good at-bats and you don't get hits. It's part of the game."

After his debut, Arencibia sat out the next game and made only four starts in the next 10 games, finishing with a .250 average (5-for-20). He said it was difficult to adjust to not playing every day.

"That makes it hard," he said. "I've never had games like that where I've had time off."

Called up when All-Star catcher John Buck was placed on the 15-day disabled list, Arencibia was sent down when Buck returned to the Blue Jays.

But the 2007 first-round draft pick said he'll rejoin Toronto in September, when rosters expand.

"I learned a lot when I was there," he said. "It's the same game. It's just about going out there and being confident in your abilities."

■ NOTE -- Catcher Brian Jeroloman was demoted from the 51s to Double-A New Hampshire.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.