Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Slade Cecconi made his MLB debut against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. In that particular contest, Cecconi was fortunate enough to record his first career strikeout, but it came in interesting fashion.
The Diamondbacks had taken a 2-0 lead during the first inning before Cecconi even toed the rubber. Cecconi faced Giants slugger LaMonte Wade Jr. to lead off the bottom half of the inning. With two strikes on Wade Jr., he fouled the ball off into Diamondbacks catcher Jose Herrera’s groin. Since Herrera hung onto the ball, it was eventually called the third strike.
Wade Jr. originally made his way down to first base after the umpire ruled that he was hit by the pitch. Upon replay and a Diamondbacks challenge, it was ruled that Wade Jr. fouled the pitch off and Herrera caught the ball with his groin.
It was certainly one of the more peculiar first-career strikeouts that you’ll ever see. Herrera deserves quite a bit of praise for the play as he managed to not let the ball hit the ground after it landed on his groin.
Cecconi surrendered two earned runs on just four hits across 4 2/3 innings in a 4-2 Diamondbacks loss. As a result, the Giants took the lead in the National League Wild Card standings.
