SAN ANTONIO — Six years ago, Bryce Miller was pitching for the New Braunfels Unicorns. On Tuesday, he entered territory as rare as a unicorn itself.
Making his MLB debut against the Oakland Athletics, Miller struck out 10 batters to set a Seattle Mariners record for strikeouts in a debut.
He was perfect through 5 1/3 innings, not allowing a baserunner until Tony Kemp’s single with one out in the sixth. After allowing a run later in the inning, Miller eventually struck out Ryan Noda to close his evening.
Miller finished with a no-decision in a 2-1 Mariners win.
He was called up by the Mariners on Tuesday from Double-A Arkansas, where he sported a 6.86 ERA in four starts. But Miller’s pedigree in the Mariners farm system is strong; he's ranked as the organization's No. 2 prospect, per MLB.com.
The 24-year-old righthander looked unfazed Tuesday night, and was at his most dominant during streak of five consecutive strikeouts spanning the first and second innings. All five of those strikeouts came via Miller’s fastball, which touched 97 mph on the radar gun.
Miller is the third MLB pitcher since 1900 with no walks and 10 strikeouts in his MLB debut, joining Johnny Cueto and Stephen Strausburg. Both went on to become All-Stars later in their career.
A fourth-round pick in 2021, Miller started his college career at Blinn Junior College in Texas before transferring to Texas A&M. He began his career with the Aggies in the bullpen before a move to the rotation.
Before Tuesday’s game, Miller admitted that he only really began pitching full-time during his senior year at New Braunfels High School.
Should Miller remain in the Mariners rotation for another start, he would tentatively be slated to pitch Sunday against the defending champion Houston Astros at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
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