Merritt impresses in Major League debut

CLEVELAND — The bullpen phone had rung nearly two dozen times before Ryan Merritt’s name was spoken. After a week of soaking up the big leagues, and patiently waiting his turn, that moment arrived for the Indians’ rookie left-hander on Monday night.

Merrit’s Major League debut may have come in a tough 9-2 loss to the Rangers, but the lefty’s work against the team he grew up watching was a bright spot for Cleveland. It took a week for Merritt to see a big league mound for the first time, but the Indians’ No. 27 prospect smiled when asked if it was worth the wait.

“Oh, yeah,” Merritt said. “Pretty nervous, and a lot of anticipation, but it was worth it getting out there, getting my toes wet, getting a feel for the Major Leagues. It was fun.”

What was not fun was watching the first four innings, in which the Rangers scored nine runs on 10 hits and did enough damage to send the previously unbeaten Josh Tomlin to his first loss of the season. Merritt saw Ian Desmond launch a two-run homer in the first and Nomar Mazara belt a three-run shot in the fourth. The lefty also watched Indians manager Terry Francona get ejected in the third.

Tribe bench coach Brad Mills, who was managing in place of Francona, …

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