WASHINGTON -- Amid blockbuster deals and the hubbub surrounding Friday’s Trade Deadline, there was a brief moment, a special moment that happens just once in a player’s career: a Major League debut.

The Nationals needed an arm to bolster their bullpen after they dealt Brad Hand to the Blue Jays and Daniel Hudson to the Padres at the Trade Deadline. So they turned to 26-year-old Gabe Klobosits, a right-handed pitcher Washington had selected out of Auburn in the 36th round of the 2017 Draft.

“We’ve still got some really good pieces,” manager Dave Martinez said on Friday after the Deadline. “And we’ve got some young pieces that are going to help us win in the future, and in the near future.”

Martinez wasn’t referring to Klobosits specifically, but his words and Klobosits’ two outs in a key moment of Washington’s 4-3 win over the Cubs came together cosmically.

The 6-foot-7, 270-pound Klobosits took the mound with one out in the eighth inning after Ryne Harper exited with an apparent injury. With his parents and his girlfriend in the stands, Klobosits was more nervous when he was in the bullpen than on the field, according to Martinez. Though he did not record his first Major League strikeout, he did get Washington out of the inning with a one-run lead, allowing one run in two-thirds of an inning.

“[It’s a] dream come true really,” Klobosits said. “I still can’t grasp the idea of it, so I don’t really know what to say.”

Klobosits spent time on the injured list in 2018 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Once he had rehabbed, he worked his way through the Minor Leagues. Klobosits finally landed on the big league stage on Friday night, as the air settled after a roster overhaul.

“He came in and he was totally fine,” Martinez said on Saturday. “Once he came in, he was [like], ‘Just got to strike this guy out.’”

In 24 relief appearances between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester this season, Klobosits recorded a 0.56 ERA, striking out 36 while allowing just four runs (two earned) on 21 hits and 10 walks. Klobosits proved he had the stuff to make his much-awaited Major League debut -- in his nine relief outings with the Rochester Red Wings, he allowed one run (unearned) while recording 10 strikeouts and earning three saves in three opportunities.

Klobosits’ mindset fits perfectly with the Nats’ mantra of "Just go 1-0 today," as he also stays in the moment. On Friday night, that approach worked.

“Just go out and attack hitters,” Klobosits said. “Do what I’ve been doing all year and throw strikes, get outs. That’s the main thing -- you fall behind, that’s when bad things happen.”

While his phone was blowing up postgame, as can be expected after a major milestone in a player’s career, Klobosits returned to the hotel with his parents and girlfriend.

“[We] talked, soaked it all in,” he said. “I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity.”