Watch: Diamondbacks pitcher strikes out Giants hitter in unusual way
Making his MLB debut, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Slade Cecconi was a part of history becoming the first player to record his first career strikeout on an umpire review.
Cecconi appeared to hit San Fransisco Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. with a 3-2 pitch. But after review, it was determined that the ball glanced off his bat knob and into the groin area of Diamondbacks catcher Jose Herrera who managed to hang onto the ball.
He would strike out two batters total over his four and two-thirds innings pitched allowing two runs on four hits and one walk.
Ranked as the No. 9 prospect in the Diamondbacks organization, Cecconi has struggled mightly in Triple-A before getting the call-up to make his debut after pitcher Austin Adams was placed on the 60-day injured list.
With a 4-8 record with a 6.38 ERA over 103 innings pitched and allowing 23 home runs after giving up 22 in 129.2 innings pitched in 2022.
Having an offense that is ranked top ten in multiple categories, the ability to keep other teams from scoring has been a major problem with a team ERA of 4.61 and allowing opposing hitters to hit .254 against them.
After not being able to make a deal for one at the trade deadline, the Diamondbacks are desperate for starting pitching outside of Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen.
With top-ranked pitching prospect Brandon Pfaadt ineffective in his first MLB season, Cecconi will hope that he made a good impression with his ability to put his minor league struggles behind him and go to the mound with a fresh slate.
In the middle of a heated playoff race, the Diamondbacks are five-and-a-half games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place and only one game out of a Wild Card spot but will need to stop their recent struggles if they hope to stay in contention in 2023.
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