KANSAS CITY -- ??July 27, 2020, will always be a memorable date for Royals pitcher Foster Griffin.

The left-hander turned 25 that day and became the third pitcher since 1901 to celebrate a birthday, make a Major League debut and earn a win all on the same day. But it¡¯s also the day he tore the UCL in his left elbow, forcing him to have Tommy John surgery.

He made his return to the Royals and pitched a scoreless inning Friday night as Kansas City lost, 6-4, to the Twins at Kauffman Stadium.

¡°I tried to make it feel like just another day on the bump,¡± Griffin said. ¡°I just wanted to go out there and attack the zone and have them put it in play because we have gold all over this field. So I just wanted to let the defense do their thing, and they did and got it done.¡±

Griffin had his lone previous big league appearance at Comerica Park against Detroit. He threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed no hits nor walks and struck out one.

Although Friday night wasn¡¯t Griffin¡¯s first time in the Majors, it featured many firsts for him. Since his debut came during the season disrupted by COVID-19, he experienced pitching at Kauffman Stadium for the first time and in front of fans at a big league park.

¡°It was an emotional day, for sure. I didn¡¯t sleep great last night,¡± Griffin said. ¡°It was a blast, but you kind of zone it out once you get on the mound. It¡¯s a weird thing to describe, but once I was done, I looked around and took it all in.¡±

Griffin threw six strikes and two balls while getting the heart of the Twins¡¯ lineup out in order in the seventh inning. He made Byron Buxton line out to left field, Carlos Correa ground out to shortstop and Luis Arraez hit a flyout to center field. He was effective with his fastball, which hit up to 94.1 mph and got two hitters out with the pitch.

¡°All year for me, my fastball/cutter has been working well,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve tried to get ahead early and stick with that. I went over some game-plan stuff and that fell right into it. I just tried to keep doing what I¡¯ve been doing down in [Triple-A] Omaha.¡±

It¡¯s been quite a journey for Griffin, a Royals first-round Draft pick in 2014. He has played in 169 Minor League games over his career and pitched nearly 800 innings. Most of those games were as a starting pitcher before he moved to the bullpen this season.

The 26-year old gave the Royals many reasons to select him from Triple-A. In 13 relief appearances this season, he¡¯d given up only four earned runs (1.83 ERA). His command has been stellar, with four walks against 23 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings.

¡°He pitched good, and we were able to get right back into the game,¡± manager Mike Matheny said. ¡°It¡¯s a big deal, and we talked about it pregame. For him to fight back from a surgery ¡­ because you just never know how it plays out.¡±

Griffin¡¯s?mix of the breaking ball and fastball are catching hitters by surprise and led to a perfect inning on Friday night against the leaders of the American League Central.

¡°The breaking ball has always been a wipeout pitch for him,¡± Matheny said. ¡°It¡¯s got above-average spin, and he locates his fastball well. You¡¯ll see he¡¯s very effective against right-handed batters because he uses both sides of the plate with his fastball.¡±

It¡¯s a small sample size of two games, but in 2 2/3 innings in the Majors, Griffin has yet to allow a hit and looks comfortable on a big league mound.

¡°I was pretty determined to make this one a different outing,¡± Griffin said. ¡°I wanted to leave with a smile on my face this time so it¡¯s pretty surreal to see it come full circle like this.¡±