Knuckleballer Eddie Gamboa got the call every minor leaguer dreams of on Saturday and rushed to Baltimore to join the Orioles in the middle of their 7-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, but he's not likely to be here very long.
In a perfect world, he would get a chance to make his major league debut while he's here, but it would likely take either a long, extra-inning game or a blowout win by either team for that to happen.
He likely will return to Norfolk as soon as outfielder David Lough is ready to come off the disabled list, which could happen after he makes a rehab start today with the Class-A Frederick Keys at Harry Grove Stadium.
"I think he knows this is kind of an in-and-out,'' manager Buck Showalter said.
Showalter said he would like to get Gamboa back to the Tides in time for his scheduled start on Monday.
Nevertheless, Gamboa said he was thrilled to get the call and the chance to spend some time in the major league bullpen, even though he had to hustle to catch a flight out of Charlotte, N.C.
"It's why you're there,'' he said. "You're there for these situations if they need us. I was just fortunate that it was me and, hopefully, I'll try to do whatever they need to try and help this team win."