Worry struck Cleveland Guardians fans when Sam Hentges when on the injured list early on in Spring Training. He was the only left-handed arm in Cleveland's bullpen and a pretty good one at that.
However, the organization wasn't concerned because they knew they had Tim Herrin ready to make an impact.
The left-handed pitcher had a solid spring appearing in 11 games and pitching 11.2 innings. Over that time he posted a 3.86 ERA with 14 strikeouts and just two walks. With these stats, it was hard to keep him off the Opening Day roster where he'd make his Big League debut.
Finally, that time came against the Seattle Mariners.
Herrin came in relief for Cal Quantrill in the fifth inning with a runner on second. But that didn't phase the 26-year-old as he was tremendous in his Major League debut.
Herrin only saw four batters but was dominant in each of those at-bats. He finished with 1.1 innings pitched, four strikeouts, zero hits, zero walks, and zero earned runs. You can't ask for anything else from a relief arm in their first Big League game.
Herrin used a three-pitch mix that included a 4-seam fastball, sinker, and slider. The slider was thrown 14 out of his 20 pitches and was clearly his best pitch. Eight of his 11 strikes came from the slides which included five Whiffs.
This is the first time since 1901 that a pitcher has seen four or more batters and struck them all out in the
It's just one appearance, but Herrin has a good chance of staying in the bullpen even when Hentges returns if he keeps having outings such as this one.
----
Aaron Civale Throws Gem In Season Debut Against The Mariners
More must-reads: