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The diminutive infielder who attended Washington University in St. Louis was called up to make his Major League debut Friday night for the Milwaukee Brewers, where he started at third base.

Durbin wasted no time, for his first big-league hit in his first plate appearance. Durbin later dropped in a bloop hit in the seventh, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored as the Brewers beat the Athletics 5-3 in Milwaukee.

Durbin also made a in snagging a fly ball over the railing of the Athletics' dugout and quickly became a fan favorite.

Durbin further endeared himself to the Brewers faithful when he took third base after a throw in from an outfielder squirted away near second base, allowing him to score on a groundout by the next batter.

"Better than I could've imagined," Durbin said on a television interview postgame moments after a Gatorade bath from teammates.

A group of Durbin's family members, many clad in his No. 21 jersey, were seated behind home plate and cheering him on as he got that first hit. He grew up about an hour away from Milwaukee in Lake Forest, Illinois, and he said he bought about 30 tickets for friends and relatives to attend Friday's game. Plenty of other friends already had acquired their own tickets.

"The kid is born to play baseball," Caleb's brother Regis said on a "Since he was 6 years old, always baseball, always baseball. But I mean great baseball player, better person."

Durbin, who stands 5-foot-7, came to the Brewers along with left-handed pitcher Nestor Cortes in the offseason trade that sent two-time NL reliever of the year Devin Williams to the New York Yankees.

"I see him playing every day," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said before the game.

Durbin was batting .278 with a .316 on-base percentage, two homers, three RBIs and three steals in 13 games with Nashville. Durbin played third base in eight of his 13 appearances this year, though he has played second base more than any other position in the minors.

His arrival in the majors is a pretty remarkable accomplishment for the undersized infielder from a Division III program.

"Definitely my journey's pretty unique, but I think just in general anyone at this level has put in a ton of work," Durbin said.

"I know how much work I've had to put in to get here, and it's not easy. But at the same time, you just put your head down and work and you're giving yourself the best chance. That's kind of what it's been about for me."

Durbin, picked in the 14th round in 2021, was just the third player in WashU baseball history to be drafted into the majors and the first since 1997.

As a junior, Durbin helped lead the Bears to the Division III World Series. At WashU, Durbin played in 93 games, recording a career batting average of .386 and a career on-base percentage of .477.

Durbin was named Arizona Fall League Breakout Prospect of the Year last year as he set a record with 29 stolen bases.

No WashU player had played in the major leagues in nearly 50 years until last season, when pitcher Ryan Loutos appeared in three games with the Cardinals. He is with the Redbirds' Triple-A affiliate in Memphis this season.

Before that, Dal Maxvill, who played 11 seasons with the Cardinals, was the last WashU product in the majors.

The Brewers visit St. Louis next weekend.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.