Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays Sonnanstine made his first major league start against the
Toronto Blue Jays, receiving a no-decision. He picked up his first major league
win on June 10, , in a game against the
Florida Marlins. Sonnanstine demonstrated strikeout potential in 2007 when, through seven innings of work against the Marlins, he
struck out ten batters, including a franchise-record seven in a row, while allowing two
runs on seven
hits. He also went 2-for-3 as a batter, scored his first run and drove in his first career
run. Sonnanstine has impressed many by his mental approach to the game, as he is a fierce competitor who takes a mental approach similar to that of
Greg Maddux. One of Sonnanstine's best starts came on August 31, 2007, against the
New York Yankees at
Yankee Stadium, where he pitched 8 innings, allowing 2 hits and no
earned runs (1 unearned run) with 5 strikeouts and no
walks. He ended his
rookie campaign with a 6-10 record, pitching 130 innings with an
ERA of 5.85. In another career night, on April 19, , Sonnanstine pitched a
complete game shutout against the
Chicago White Sox. He allowed just 3 hits and struck out 4 batters while walking only one. On October 6, 2008, during Game 4 of the 2008 American League Division Series, Sonnanstine pitched 5 innings of 2-run baseball against the White Sox in
Chicago. The Rays prevailed putting up six runs of their own and clinching the Division Series. Sonnanstine allowed two stolen bases in two years ('07-'08). On May 17, 2009, in a game against the
Cleveland Indians, Sonnanstine was included in the starting lineup due to a mistake when Rays manager
Joe Maddon entered the wrong lineup card, which had both
Evan Longoria and
Ben Zobrist playing third base, omitting the DH spot. The last time a pitcher was in the initial batting order in a game between two AL teams was September 23, 1976, when the White Sox batted
Ken Brett eighth against the Twins. Sonnanstine went 1-for-3 with an RBI double and ended up winning the game despite the lineup error and giving up five runs. Through July 1, 2009, Sonnanstine had the highest ERA of any major league pitcher (6.61). After the Rays traded
Scott Kazmir to the
Los Angeles Angels, Sonnanstine was recalled from Triple-A Durham to fill the hole in the starting rotation. In his first game since the beginning of the season against the rival
Boston Red Sox, he posted a loss, giving up 3 earned runs, 2 home runs, 8 hits and 5 total runs in 4 innings with a pitch count of 91 (55s-36b). On August 19, 2010, Sonnanstine was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring.
Jeremy Hellickson was called up to make his MLB debut that day against the
Minnesota Twins. He was non-tendered and became a free agent on December 12, 2011 Sonnastine's 2011 book with
Tucker Elliot Tampa Bay Rays IQ: The Ultimate Test of True Fandom, published by Black Mesa books contains ten chapters of Rays history and offers up 200 trivia questions.
Chicago Cubs On December 26, 2011, Sonnanstine agreed on a one-year, non-guaranteed split contract with the
Chicago Cubs. He declined to be optioned to Triple-A, and became a free agent on March 24. ==References==