Jake Thompson has Memorable Night for Philadelphia Phillies
By Adam Piede
Philadelphia Phillies rookie pitcher, Jake Thompson picked up his first major league win last Saturday night. Along, the way he tied a Major League record by striking out four batters in one inning.
Saturday night will be a night Jake Thompson remembers for a long time as he led the Philadelphia Phillies to a 10-6 victory over the Colorado Rockies. In addition to earning his first career win, he became the latest pitcher to tie a Major League record as he struck out four batters in the second inning.
Thompson’s record-tying inning got off to an auspicious start as the first three batters reached base. David Dahl led off the inning by striking out on a curveball but made it to first on a passed ball. Gerardo Parra and Nick Hundley followed by reaching base, while scoring Dahl in the process. Thompson then settled down and struck out Ben Paulsen, Daniel Descalso and Jon Gray consecutively to etch his name into the record books.
By whiffing four in one inning, Thompson became the first Phillies pitcher to achieve this feat in 114 years. Doc White struck out four Brooklyn Dodgers in the fifth inning of a game on July 21st, 1902.
Ironically, Thompson has not been much of a strikeout pitcher during his minor league career. He hadn’t struck out more than six batters in a game over his eight Triple-A starts. In fact, he has had seven starts in which he hadn’t even struck out four batters in a game.
The Philadelphia offense backed Thompson with 10 runs including Ryan Howard’s 14th career grand slam. Making just his second career start, Thompson went five innings, with six strikeouts and allowed three runs. After the game Thompson reflected on his big night by saying, “It’s kind of nice to get the first one out of the way. Hopefully I’ll gain more confidence on the mound and keep it rolling.”
Given the Phillies injury woes in the pitching rotation, Thompson has certainly earned himself another chance to prove he belongs in the big leagues. The young right-hander will look to build on his success as he will likely take his next turn at home against the St. Louis Cardinals next weekend.