Former Indiana pitcher Andrew Saalfrank made his major league debut Tuesday with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The left-hander came out of the bullpen at Chase Field with two outs in the top of the sixth inning as the D-backs trailed the Colorado Rockies, 3-2. Saalfrank induced a groundout from Rockies veteran outfielder Charlie Blackmon for his first career out. He came back out in the seventh and picked up his first MLB strikeout against shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, and got his second against outfielder Nolan Jones in the eighth. In total, Saalfrank pitched 1 ⅔ clean innings with the two strikeouts.
Saalfrank pitched for the Hoosiers from 2017 through 2019. He was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year as a junior in 2019, when he compiled a 2.84 ERA, a 1.288 WHIP, a .246 batting average against, and 98 strikeouts. Across his three-year career in Bloomington, Saalfrank recorded a 3.81 ERA, a 1.181 WHIP, a .257 batting average against, and 188 strikeouts.
He’s the second IU baseball alum to make his major league debut this season. Left-handed pitcher Tim Herrin debuted for the Cleveland Guardians on April 2.
The Diamondbacks broadcast conducted an emotional interview with Saalfrank’s mom during the game about his journey to get to this point and her emotions in the moment.
First MLB appearance ✔️
First MLB strikeout ✔️A night to remember for Andrew Saalfrank! https://t.co/0rG1u4N5jd pic.twitter.com/zfxhizkKYO
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 6, 2023
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
