It was a rough Major League debut on Thursday for Jack Leiter, but his team still managed to pull out a victory.
The Rangers’ 23-year-old right-hander — the son of former Mets and Yankees left-hander Al Leiter — allowed seven runs, all earned, on eight hits in 3 ²/₃ innings in the Rangers’ 9-7 victory. Texas vs. the Tigers in Detroit.
He walked three and struck out three.
“It’s obviously a surreal experience,” Leiter said. “It’s something you’ve dreamed of since you were little. Being still present at the game is a special day. I know I am better and I need to be better and I will be better. And that’s a bit of the frustration of some of the arguments that I left on the table and some of the mistakes that I made. »
Leiter, the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, came from Triple-A Round Rock, where he was 1-1 with 25 strikeouts and three walks in 14 innings in three appearances.
“He was fine,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “He had a little trouble finding his footing in the second inning, but he came right back in the third and got two quick outs in the fourth before getting into trouble.”
Despite Leiter’s struggle, the Rangers pulled out the win thanks in large part to Leody Taveras, who scored the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice in the eighth inning and added an RBI single.
Taveras doubled with one out in the eighth and went to third on Marcus Semien’s fielder’s choice, escaping a tag from Detroit third baseman and former Yankee Gio Urshela.
Seager then moved to first and Taveras scored to break a 7-all tie.
“He made a great play,” Tigers manager A.J. said. Hinch talked about Tavares’ play. “We made a lot of mistakes today, but this wasn’t one of them. It was an athletic play of baseball that didn’t go our way.
Jose Leclerc (1-1) won in relief for Texas, and Shelby Miller (3-2), the fifth of Detroit’s six pitchers, suffered the loss for the second straight day.
Although it wasn’t a good start for Leiter, he had support from a member of the Yankees.
Anthony Volpe — a former teammate of Leiter’s at Delbarton School in New Jersey — said Wednesday he was looking forward to spending his day off with the Yankees watching “every pitch” of his friend’s major league debut .
“I couldn’t be happier for him and his whole family, for everyone. I’m super excited,” said Volpe, who won a New Jersey state championship with Leiter during his senior year at Delbarton. “I’m sure his phone was going crazy and all our friends and family friends are super excited.”
— with AP
New York Post
