In his first game back in the major leagues after washing out as a pitcher, St. Louis Cardinal Rick Ankiel had one go out of the ballpark – but this time he was on the other end of the pitch. Ankiel’s three-run homer capped a storybook return – this time as an outfielder – in a 5-0 victory over San Diego on Thursday night.
“Unbelievable,” Ankiel said. “You almost can’t put that into words.”
Ankiel, who led the Pacific Coast League with 32 homers for Triple-A Memphis, launched a 2-1 curveball from Doug Brocail over the right-field wall in the seventh with an effortless swing.
The drive merited a standing ovation and a curtain call for the once-troubled left-hander, who walked away from a pitching career in frustration more than two years ago.
