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Forget about the notion five weeks ago Andrew Alvarez might somehow pitch five scoreless innings in the major leagues. The mere notion at that time Alvarez might pitch in the major leagues at all sounded pretty ludicrous.
The 26-year-old left-handed seemingly had stalled out at Triple-A Rochester, winless through his first 19 starts of the season, his ERA in the high-4.00s. As much as the Nationals needed all the pitching help they could get, Alvarez didn’t figure to make the list of prime candidates for a promotion.
Those who know him well, though, knew all along Alvarez wasn’t about to give up on his dream. He was going to find a way to put himself back in the mix somehow, some way. And when his moment did finally come this afternoon, he wasn’t going to waste it.
With five scoreless innings of one-hit ball, Alvarez made his major league debut one to remember. And thanks to some help from the Nationals lineup and bullpen, he was appropriately rewarded for it with a 2-0 victory over the Marlins, snapping the team’s eight-game losing streak in the process.
The 2021 12th round pick from Cal Poly becomes only the second Nationals starter since Stephen Strasburg in 2010 to win his big league debut, joining fellow lefty Mitchell Parker from one year ago. And Alvarez did something today neither Parker, Strasburg nor anyone else in his position had ever done.
