Jerad Eickhoff took a long and winding road to eventually become an MLB starting pitcher. A 15th-round pick in the 2011 Draft, the 31-year-old Eickhoff has spent various short stints around the big leagues and in the minors over the years.
Lately, Eickhoff has begun to see more time against the best bats in baseball, now with the Pirates. And like many things for Pittsburgh this season, it hasn’t gone as planned to say the least.
Eickhoff’s first MLB start for Pittsburgh was at home at PNC Park, as the veteran started a game for the Pirates against the Cubs (-1.5) on Wednesday night. What happened next?
We’ll let Chicago’s Patrick Wisdom and his bat do the talking:
4-RBI night for @PatrickWisdom5, who has homered in back-to-back games!#DailyWisdom pic.twitter.com/9DwzIsHvOA
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 23, 2022
Oof, rough.
All told, Eickhoff allowed 10 runs (!) on 10 hits (!) through just over four innings. In the process, he became the first-ever Pirates pitcher to allow 10 runs in their first start with the squad:
Jerad Eickhoff is the first player in Pirates history to give up 10 ER in his first start for the team. pic.twitter.com/kLnmsveviM
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 23, 2022
If that weren’t enough salt in the wound, Eickhoff’s last start as a MLB pitcher with the Mets didn’t go very well either. In fact, he also allowed 10 runs in that game last season.
That technically makes Eickhoff the first pitcher to allow 10 runs in consecutive starts since the Philadelphia Athletics’ (who?) Chubby Dean did it in 1940:
Jerad Eickhoff is the first pitcher to allow 10 ER in consecutive starts since Chubby Dean in 1940. https://t.co/uQdBJejik5
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 23, 2022
Any time you’re making comparable 80-plus-year history with players on teams that don’t exist anymore, you typically want to make sure it’s for a good reason. What a rough night(s) for Eickhoff.
