The Philadelphia Phillies called up top pitching prospect Orion Kerkering to make his MLB debut this weekend, and his family followed him to Citizens Bank Park to take it all in.
Kerkering took the mound in the eighth inning of Sunday's contest against the New York Mets . After forcing a groundout to open his outing, Kerkering struck out third baseman Brett Baty and outfielder Rafael Ortega swinging to get out of the inning and preserve the Phillies' 5-2 lead.
The crowd gave Kerkering a standing ovation as he walked back to the Philadelphia dugout, and his family took part in that warm welcome to the big leagues. The broadcast cameras were focused on his father, though, who clapped and cheered while trying to hold back tears.
The Phillies took Kerkering in the fifth round of the 2022 MLB Draft following his time at South Florida. Kerkering started 2023 in Low-A, but he worked his way all the way up through four levels of minor league ball before reaching the majors this week.
When he earned the call to the big leagues, the 22-year-old Kerkering was ranked as the Philadelphia's No. 7 prospect and their No. 4 pitcher.
Kerkering was 4-1 with a 1.51 ERA, 0.894 WHIP and 13.2 strikeouts per nine innings across 49 appearances in Philadelphia's farm system. The right-hander stayed true to that dominance with the Phillies on Sunday, tossing 1.0 scoreless frame en route to his first career hold.
Philadelphia completed a four-game sweep over the Mets thanks to Kerkering's work out of the bullpen, and they now stand one win away from clinching a playoff spot at 87-69. After taking Monday off, the Phillies will open a series with the Pittsburgh Pirates at 6:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
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