It was a few weeks ago, I watched a game on TV. In the game, a pitcher gave up a home run in the first inning. It seemed that he didn’t pitch well in the first inning.
Well, a play-by-play guy mentioned something which is quite interesting. He indicated that the pitcher has a very high ERA in the first inning. However, his ERA isn’t that bad after the first inning. I guess that the pitcher might need some time to settle down. After watching the game, I decided to check on the MLB website to see which pitchers face a similar situation this season.
Jake Irvin made 15 starts for the Nationals so far this season. He now has a 4.23 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP over 89.1 innings. However, things haven’t gone well in the first inning for him. In the first inning, Irvin gave up 18 runs (all earned) with 21 hits and 10 free passes. His ERA is over 10 in the first inning this season.
At the same time, Ben Brown already made 13 starts and 2 relief appearances for the Cubs so far this season. In those 13 starts, he allowed 18 hits and gave up 14 runs (all earned) in the first inning. And, he issued 9 free passes in the first inning.
In addition, Jeffrey Springs was traded to the A’s last December. So far this season, he already made 13 starts and 2 relief appearances, posting a 4.52 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP over 79.2 innings. Taking a closer look at those 13 starts, he gave up 18 runs (14 earned) in the first inning. Also, Springs gave up 12 walks and allowed 17 hits in the first inning. 5 of those 17 hits were home runs. It’s quite clear that he hasn’t pitched well in the first inning thus far this season.
Meanwhile, let’s take a look at another starter from the Nationals. Mitchell Parker already made 14 starts, posting a 4.84 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP over 74.1 innings. Nonetheless, he has some struggles in the first inning this season. Parker gave up 18 runs (15 earned) in the first inning. Also, he issued 10 free passes and allowed 19 hits.
Finally, Tyler Anderson, who’s a 2-time All-Star, has some struggles in the first inning this season. He gave up 14 runs (all earned) in the first inning. Nevertheless, he didn’t issue many free passes. However, Anderson gave up 5 home runs in the first inning so far this season and his ERA is 9. Moreover, Kyle Freeland faced a similar situation. His performance hasn’t been good so far in 2025. Freeland made 14 starts and in the first inning he gave up 15 runs (14 earned). A key problem is that he gave up 24 hits in the first inning and 5 of them were home runs.
Looking at the pitchers who have struggled in the first inning this season, of course, they were hit hard. At the same time, Jeffery Springs, Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker each issued at least 10 free passes. That doesn’t look good. But Jeffery Springs made 2 bulk relief appearances so far this month. The A’s certainly tried to solve the problem. A few days ago, Springs made a start and didn’t allow any runs in the first inning. So, it will be interesting to see what other teams will do to help their pitchers overcome the first-inning struggle.
No comments:
Post a Comment