NEW YORK — The first career major-league save for Virginia Tech graduate Nic Enright was a particularly meaningful one.
Enright, a Rocky Mount resident who was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma in late 2022 and is scheduled to complete his treatments later this year, allowed an unearned run in the 10th inning Monday night to close out the Cleveland Guardians’ 7-6 win over the New York Mets.
“He was almost crying on the field just now,†Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “If you read his story, it’s pretty inspirational.â€
Cleveland selected Enright in the 20th round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Virginia Tech. The Richmond native received his cancer diagnosis Dec. 22, 2022 — 15 days after the Miami Marlins took him in the Rule 5 draft.
“I made the decision when I was diagnosed in 2022 with Hodgkin lymphoma that I wasn’t going to let that define my life and dictate how I was going to go about my life,†Enright said after the game. “It’s something where, for anyone else who is going through anything similar, (it shows) I haven’t just holed up in my house and felt sorry for myself this whole time.â€
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He had his initial four immunotherapy treatments during January and February 2023. The rest of the treatments have been spread out so as not to conflict with baseball. He had another treatment during the All-Star break in July 2023, three more treatments in October-November 2023 and four more treatments last fall.
Enright made nine minor league rehab appearances for the Marlins before being designated for assignment in May 2023 and returning to the Guardians.
He missed most of last season due to a right shoulder strain, but went 2-1 with a 1.06 ERA in 16 appearances with Triple-A Columbus.
Enright made his major league debut May 25 and has a 2.01 ERA in 19 appearances for the Guardians, whose bullpen is in flux with All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase on paid leave as part of a sports gambling investigation.
Enright entered Monday’s game midway through the 10th with a two-run lead. He gave up a two-out RBI single to Brett Baty before retiring Luis Torrens on a fly out to the warning track in right.
“I definitely held my breath as I saw Nolan (Jones) kind of keep running,†Enright said. “But I had faith. As he kind of got closer to the wall, I realized it was losing steam.â€
Enright was showered with beer by teammates in the locker room.
“I was so happy, oh, I was going nuts in here,†Guardians starting pitcher Slade Cecconi said with a smile. “I was going absolutely berserk. He came in running up the stairs, smile on his face.â€
Enright thanked his wife, his parents and the rest of his family for their support throughout an interview at his locker. He got the ball from the final out and plans to set aside his uniform and hat as well as a lineup card.
“Really, really cool,†Enright said. “These last couple of years, especially, I’ve gone through a lot of adversity and just everything that’s gone on. And so for me, it’s being able to reflect on those in these moments. I think that helps being able to slow the game down. Because it hasn’t exactly been a red-carpet rollout for my career trajectory.â€
The right-hander has four more immunotherapy treatments scheduled for November.
