Phillies: Leiter Jr. Impresses in First Start
Friday night’s game against the Diamondbacks marked Mark Leiter Jr.’s first career start in the majors, and he delivered a quality starting performance.
Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Phillies announced that starting pitcher, Jerad Eickhoff would be placed on the disabled list with a back injury.
To replace the pitcher, the Phillies called up Mark Leiter Jr., a 26-year-old right-hander with a 5.93 ERA in AAA.
Leiter had appeared for the Phillies a few times out of the bullpen this season but never secured a spot on the 25-man-roster. On Friday, Leiter traveled with the team to Arizona and made the first major league start of his career.
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Not only did Leiter hold his own against the Diamondbacks, he dominated. Keep in mind that the Arizona Diamondbacks are one of the best offensive clubs in baseball, as no team in the league hits better at home than they do.
Leiter pitched six scoreless innings, striking out five and walking one. Most importantly, his first career start ended with a win, putting the team on a two-game winning streak.
Interestingly enough, his father, Mark Leiter Sr., never pitched a game with six shutout innings, 3 hits or fewer, and at least five strikeouts in any of his 149 career starts. It took Leiter Jr. just one game.
Leiter now joins Ben Lively as the only other Phillies pitcher who was able to pitch six shutout innings in their first career start this season.
Between Leiter, Lively, and Pivetta, Mackanin has been able to get some quality starting pitching from his younger guys, a very positive take away from what has been a very disappointing season so far.
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According to a report, Leiter was covered in guacamole, mayo, and several other condiments by his teammates after the dominant 6-1 victory. Leiter’s performance brings newfound energy to the locker room that the Phillies will look to hold onto moving forward.