Yilber Diaz turned in a very impressive start in his major league debut. Facing a tough and battle-tested Braves team, Diaz was more than up to the challenge. He held the Braves to just one run in six innings, putting himself in line for the win.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Diaz became the eighth pitcher in Diamondbacks history to throw at least six innings and allow one run or fewer in his MLB debut. The last pitcher to accomplish that feat was Drey Jameson, who fired seven scoreless innings to defeat the Padres 4-0 at Chase Field on September 15, 2022.
While he did not get the win, his efforts did not go unnoticed by manager Torey Lovullo. He spoke about the young pitcher’s debut as part of the postgame coverage on Dbacks TV.
“Yilber making his first appearance at the major league level took everything in stride, had a great pregame. Everything seemed like business as usual to him. He goes out there and executes at a high level, pitches six quality innings against an offensive team. On a day I felt like we were a little flat after an emotional road trip, he did exactly what he was supposed to, was in line to win this baseball game and handed it off to the bullpen. I can’t say enough good things about him from what I’ve seen.”
Making your major league debut can be tough for a pitcher. There’s a whirlwind of emotions going on and there’s a disruption to the typical routine. It can be a very intimidating and overwhelming environment, as everything is magnified at the major league level and pitchers face the same hitters they grew up watching.
However, in Diaz’s case, there were no signs of him looking overwhelmed. He was tested early but showed his ability to handle high-pressure situations and continue to execute pitches. The final inning of his start serves as a great example, as he faced the Braves order a third time. After running into some trouble, he struck out Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna on sliders to punctuate one of the most impressive debuts by a Diamondbacks pitcher.
The stuff was as good as advertised. Diaz was ripping fastballs in the 94-98 MPH range and having his slider play off of that. 76 of his 83 pitches were either the four-seamer or slider. Despite having control issues throughout most of his minor league career, he exhibited the type of command you see from a quality starter at the major league level.
“I normally watch him on Field 3 or 4 over at Salt River [Fields],” said Lovullo. “Everything’s amplified and it looked exactly the same. The mound presence, the demeanor, the ability to execute. It was a fantastic opening act by him.”
Diaz was the 10th starting pitcher to take the mound, excluding openers. Following his debut, he’ll get another start against the Toronto Blue Jays. It will be interesting to see what he has in store for an encore act.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
