Houston Astros reliever Kent Emanuel’s MLB debut was quite unique.
The 28-year-old southpaw was unexpectedly tasked with entering Saturday’s game against the Angels with one out in the first inning after starter Jake Odorrizzi was forced to leave the game with forearm tightness.
Emanuel proceeded to do something that had not been done since 1988: he pitched 8.2 innings of relief, allowing two solo home runs and five hits to pick up the win in a 16-2 victory for the Astros.
The last pitcher to do that was Neil Allen for the Yankees, 23 years ago when he tossed nine relief innings against the A’s on May 31, 1988.
But Emanuel’s came in his major league debut. The last time a pitcher tossed 8.2 innings in his MLB debut was Jesse Litsch in 2007 with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The last time someone threw eight innings in relief in their debut was Roger Mason in 1984 with the Detroit Tigers. The last to do it and get the win was John Montefusco for the Giants in 1974.
Emanuel had just finished serving an 80-game suspension for PEDs last week and was called up from the Astros’ alternate site on Friday to give them extra bullpen depth.
“It’s pretty wild, but I’ve been expecting this moment for quite some time now,” he said after the game. “I was ready.”
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