The theme for the Atlanta Braves in 2018 has been “youth,” and that theme continued Monday night when the Braves sent Bryse Wilson to the mound for his MLB debut. Wilson was thrust into the start to allow Atlanta’s other pitchers to gain an extra day off. He performed admirably with five shutout innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but that alone is not what makes his start impressive.
According to Mark Bowman with MLB.com, Wilson became the youngest pitcher to win his debut by a 1-0 score in MLB history. Wilson was just 20 years and 243 days old when he took the mound Monday.
Bryse Wilson makes History in MLB Debut
Impressive Start
It did not take long for Wilson to make an impression in his first start. He struck out the first two batters he faced and cruised into the fourth inning. He first encountered serious trouble after back-to-back walks to Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell with one out. He quelled that threat with a strikeout and weak groundout back to the mound.
The bottom of the fifth produced more trouble, this time after a one-out double by Adeiny Hechavarria and another walk issued by Wilson. This time it was a beautiful off-speed pitch from Wilson that induced an inning-ending double play that also ended his evening on the mound.
At just 87 pitches, some felt Wilson had at least another inning left in him, but Braves manager Brian Snitker elected to go to the bullpen in the bottom of the sixth. The bullpen was able to hold the Pirates scoreless the rest of the way for the 1-0 victory. Wilson’s final line for his debut was five innings, three hits, three walks, and five strikeouts. There are certainly things to be worked on moving forward, but Wilson hardly seemed rattled by the pressure of the moment. He made his pitches when needed and showed impressive composure throughout.
More History
Wilson joined fellow 20-year olds Mike Soroka and Kolby Allard and 22-year old Touki Toussaint as Braves pitchers to win their MLB debut this season. According to the Braves official Twitter account, Wilson’s win makes Atlanta just the second team in over 100 years to have four different pitchers win their debuts in the same season.
With Bryse Wilson’s victory in his MLB debut tonight, the #Braves became just the 2nd team in the last 110 seasons to have 4 starters win their MLB debuts. Wilson joined fellow rookies Mike Soroka, Kolby Allard & Touki Toussaint, who all won their debuts earlier this season. https://t.co/bqk79ihtrY
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 21, 2018
Main Photo:
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