Wild MLB debut by Yankees’ Weissert; HBPs on first 2 pitches

From the very first pitch, it was pretty painful to watch the major league debut of New York Yankees reliever Greg Weissert.

Painful for Oakland hitters, too.

He plunked a batter with his first offering. Then he balked. Then he nailed a guy with his second pitch, prompting the A’s hitter to slam down his bat.

Didn’t get much better from there, either, for the new right-hander wearing No. 85.

And after a pair of oneout walks, with Weissert’s last pitch going to the backstop, it was over. Pulled by manager Aaron Boone with the Yankees ahead 13-2 in the seventh inning, Weissert made the exceedingly long trudge from the mound to the dugout at the Coliseum.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Weissert became the first player in the expansion era (since 1961) to hit batters with his first two pitchers in the majors.

Every pitcher’s worst debut nightmare. At least he’s now a big leaguer forever - and the AL Eastleading Yankees still coasted to a 13-4 win.

“Only up from here,” Boone said after the game. “That’s a rough one. I think it sped up on him. He acknowledged that.”

Disconsolate after his wild outing, the 27-year-old Weissert banged his glove on the bench and took a seat all by himself at the end of the dugout, looking down.

He wasn’t alone for long. One by one, his teammates started to wander over to offer words and taps of encouragement. Pitcher Domingo German, coach Luis Rojas and his catcher, All-Star Jose Trevino. By the end of the inning, slugger Aaron Judge was sitting next Weissert, getting the rookie to relax.

“Just say, `Hey, take a deep breath, just play catch,’ that’s what it’s about,” said 12-year veteran Josh Donaldson, who got three hits and scored four runs.

“We’ve all had that big league moment where it starts speeding up on us and it’s OK. It’s going to happen. But to be able to move past that the next time he gets his opportunity will be important,” the 2015 AL MVP said.