Hunter Stratton’s journey to the major leagues became real when the Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed reliever took the ball and threw his first pitch to Mark Canha for a swinging strike in the eighth inning.
An inning that started with a strike ended with an exhale when Stratton struck out Tyrone Taylor to escape a bases-loaded jam in his debut in a 7-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night at PNC Park.
“What a blessing,” said Stratton, 26, a 2017 16th-round pick out of Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tenn. “Words can’t describe it. It’s a dream come true. I’m at a loss for words.”
Stratton entered the game in the eighth with the Pirates trailing, 7-0, and retired the first two batters he faced, getting Canha to pop up to short and Willy Adames to fly out to left. What appeared to be an easy inning soon turned into an adventure when Sal Frelick hit a deep fly to center.
The ball sailed over center fielder Jack Suwinski’s outstretched glove and off the wall for a triple. After Andruw Monasterio drew a full-count walk, Stratton hit Brice Turang with a pitch to load the bases. Stratton, who spent two-plus seasons at Triple-A Indianapolis, hadn’t allowed an earned run in 11 appearances in August before his promotion to the Pirates. Now, he was facing his biggest test.
“The nerves were definitely there,” Stratton said, “but it felt good to get out of it clean.”
Stratton relied on his cutter, which has become his bread-and-butter pitch, on three consecutive pitches against Taylor. The third started down the middle before running away to get Taylor swinging.
Hunter Stratton with his first career strikeout and a scoreless inning in his MLB Debut!
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) September 6, 2023
92.7 MPH cutter, 2786 RPM, 24 inVB, 8 inHB pic.twitter.com/1c2w7bnu9p
Have to love Endy Rodriguez' reaction to Hunter Stratton getting his first MLB strikeout pic.twitter.com/2h8iizXnvk
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) September 6, 2023
“The eighth sped up on me,” Stratton said. “I just breathed and let the rest take care of itself.”
Stratton retired the side in the ninth, getting Christian Yelich to ground out to second, striking out William Contreras on a foul tip with the cutter and pinch hitter Rowdy Tellez to pop out to third in foul territory.
“I thought he did a good job,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “Fastball was 95-97 (mph), he threw the cutter, he was effective. He got himself out of a jam there in the eighth. And then in the ninth, the ball came out of his hand really well. So overall, good first impression, good major-league debut.”
Stratton got emotional afterward, thanking a “countless list” of family and friends for their support and saving the ball from his first strikeout for his father, who played catch with him every day starting at age 4, “no matter how tired he was.”
It’s a moment Stratton called “incredible,” and one he will cherish.
“You think about it forever. You dream of it,” Stratton said. “Now, it’s true.”
