The Rays’ game on May 27 against the Seattle Mariners was not televised by either team, which meant Donna and Ron Archer could not watch from their North Carolina home as their son pitched.
So, Chris Archer flew them to Tampa Bay.
What they witnessed at Tropicana Field that Wednesday afternoon was a seminal moment in Archer’s still young career. Archer went toe-to-toe against Seattle’s Felix Hernandez.
“And they got to see a heavyweight bout, me against Felix,” Archer said.
Archer matched the 2010 Cy Young Award winner scoreless inning for scoreless inning in what became a 3-0 Mariners win, courtesy of Nelson Cruz’s three-run ninth-inning blast off reliever Brad Boxberger.