KANSAS CITY -- Lost in the happiness of Tuesday night's 6-5 Rays win over the Royals was the winning pitcher: Jonny Venters.
Venters recorded the last two outs of the eighth inning ahead of the Rays' rally in the ninth at Kauffman Stadium to earn his first win since Aug. 17, 2012, against the Dodgers.
Venters went five years, 271 days between wins. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the last pitcher to go as long was Cesar Valdez, seven years, 83 days, from May 3, 2010, to July 25, 2017.
"It's been a long time," Venters said when asked about the win.
Yes, it has been a while. To be exact, 2,096 days ago. In between his wins, 1,059 different pitchers have recorded a Major League victory.
Venters has endured quite a struggle to get to where he did on Tuesday night, undergoing 3 1/2 Tommy John surgeries to his left elbow.
Earlier in his career, Venters paired with Craig Kimbrel to form one of the best back-end duos in the Majors as members of the Braves' bullpen.