Joe Biagini - Toronto Blue Jays Bio

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada -- Former UC Davis right-hander Joe Biagini became the third Aggie to reach the Major Leagues on Friday night, pitching a scoreless inning and collecting his first career strikeout in Toronto's 8-7 loss to Boston.

Prior to Biagini, only two other former UC Davis players have reached the pinnacle of professional baseball: pitcher Steve Brown made his major league debut on Aug. 1, 1983, and appeared in 15 games with the California Angels during the 1983-84 seasons, while Daniel Descalso enters his sixth full major league season in 2016 -- and his second with the Colorado Rockies -- since making his debut on Sept. 18, 2010, for the St. Louis Cardinals against San Diego, including helping the Cardinals to a World Series championship in 2011.

Coming in to start the ninth inning of a one-run game on Friday night at the Rogers Centre, Biagini sandwiched a pair of ground balls around his first career strikeout, getting Red Sox slugger David Ortiz swinging for the second out of the frame, keeping his team close for a chance for one more rally in the bottom of the ninth.

Selected in the 26th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft by San Francisco, Biagini has spent the last four seasons in the Giants organization, eventually reaching Double-A Richmond in 2015. The Santa Clara, Calif., native posted a 10-7 record with a 2.42 ERA and a .228 average against in 130.1 innings of work last season, including a start on the mound in the Eastern League All-Star Game. He was selected by Toronto in the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 10, 2015, and earned a spot on the Blue Jays' active roster at the end of spring training.

After spending two years at the College of San Mateo, Biagini made 13 appearances for the Aggies in 2011, posting a 3-1 record and a 7.47 ERA striking out 18 batters in 15.2 innings of work in his only season at UC Davis. He posted wins over Sacramento State, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Riverside, while striking out a career-high four batters in three innings against Stanford on May 10.