Nationals Rookie Starting Pitcher Taking Part in Historic Day in MLB

In an effort to improve their starting pitching depth, the Washington Nationals signed Shinnosuke Ogasawara out of Japan this past offseason in a historic deal.

The two sides agreed to a two-year, $3.5 million deal, giving the Nationals inroads to the international market that they have otherwise not been able to build.

He was given a chance to make the big league rotation out of spring training, but faced an uphill battle and was unable to join MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Trevor Williams and Michael Soroka after Mitchell Parker was given the final spot.

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Ogasawara began his career in the minor leagues, but he experienced a hiccup right away.

Unfortunately for him, his first season as a professional in North America got off to a bumpy start when he suffered an oblique strain on April 17.

His rehab assignment didn't begin until June 15 in the Florida Complex League, where he threw two shutout innings.

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Ogasawara made six appearances overall in the minors between the FCL, High-A Wilmington and Triple-A Rochester before making his highly anticipated MLB debut on July 6 against the Boston Red Sox

He was hit hard in the outing, giving up seven hits, including one home run, and being charged with four earned runs in only 2.2 innings pitched. Two batters were struck out and he didn’t issue a walk.

While the outcome wasn’t what Ogasawara or the Nationals were hoping for, it was still great to see him make his debut.

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His second start will come on Saturday afternoon with Washington on the road facing off against the Milwaukee Brewers, and it will be another special one.

Saturday, July 12, will mark a special occasion for international players.

As shared by OptaSTATS, it will be the first time in MLB history that four different Japanese-born pitchers will start a Major League Baseball game on the same day.

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Along with Ogasawara, Yu Darvish of the San Diego Padres, Yusei Kikuchi of the Los Angeles Angels and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers are all probable starters for games.

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