Best moments from Chad Kuhl's MLB debut, ranked
On Wednesday, Chad Kuhl was told by his Triple-A Indianapolis manager that he was being promoted to the Pittsburgh Pirates to make his MLB debut Sunday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Five minutes later, the Pirates' prospect realized his opponent would be three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw.
Kuhl said he would treat the outing like "any other start," but after helping the Pirates defeat Kershaw and the Dodgers, 4-3, we're willing to bet this one felt different. The Pirates right-hander electrified the PNC Park crowd and found himself in the middle of several key plays during the nationally televised game, so let's take this opportunity to rank his five best moments:
5. Retires Utley for 1st MLB out
Kuhl will always remember the first out he made in the majors, and why wouldn't he? The 23-year-old rookie retired Chase Utley on just the second pitch of his major-league career and in front of a soldout crowd with his family in attendance. Once that was out of the way, the Pirates right-hander coolly pitched around a pair of walks to escape his first-inning jam with the game still scoreless.
4. 'The Kershaw at-bat'
OK, it may not have been that dramatic, but how many National League pitchers get a standing ovation for striking out as a batter? Kuhl showed tremendous poise in his first MLB at-bat, battling Kershaw for eight pitches and fouling off three straight offerings - including an 89-mph slider - before swinging through another nasty slider from the game's top pitcher. Not bad.
3. First MLB strikeout
Kuhl struck out five batters Sunday - including a fifth-inning whiff of Dodgers star Yasiel Puig - though the one he'll surely remember most was his first MLB punchout in the second inning. The young pitcher retired Yasmani Grandal with a steady diet of fastballs, including a 93-mph swinging third strike. Two batters later, Kuhl exacted revenge on Kershaw, too, sitting down the Dodgers ace with three straight heaters.
2. Play at the plate
Perhaps the single most electrifying moment of Kuhl's debut came during his final batter of the night in the fifth, when Pirates catcher Chris Stewart was unable to catch a 1-1 offering to Joc Pederson, and the ball scooted to the backstop behind home plate. With Justin Turner breaking for home on the passed ball, Kuhl alertly sprinted to the plate, caught the toss from Stewart, and successfully applied the tag to preserve the Pirates' 4-3 lead and send PNC Park into a frenzy.
1. Notches win against Kershaw
The greatest moment of Kuhl's MLB debut was without question getting the better of Kershaw, even if the All-Star lefty wasn't at his best. Kuhl, of course, couldn't do it alone - he got the help he needed from a lights-out Pirates bullpen, which compiled four scoreless innings of relief to help secure the memorable victory for the former ninth-round draft pick. Asked after the game how it felt to beat Kershaw in his first major-league start, Kuhl told ESPN's Buster Olney: "I won't be able to sleep tonight." No kidding.
(Videos courtesy: MLB.com)