The Athletics’ No. 14 overall prospect, right-handed pitcher Gunnar Hoglund, tossed a six-inning gem in his MLB debut to help his team win its third straight game, 6-0 over the Miami Marlins, on Friday at loanDepot park.
The 25-year-old was called up on Thursday to address the Green and Gold’s recent rotational struggles.
“I don’t even know where to start,” Hoglund said on “A’s Cast” with NBC Sports California’s Dallas Braden and Jenny Cavnar after allowing just one run in the win. “I’m just so thankful it went the way it did. I didn’t have much sleep after I got the call. I woke up today just trying to treat it like another game, but it’s not another game – it’s your first one.
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SIGN UP HERE “You want to make a good impression, and I’m just glad I had everything working today.”
Hoglund sure did make a good first impression in his home state of Florida.
He needed just 81 pitches to finish with seven strikeouts while allowing six hits in front of his thrilled family and friends in attendance.
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“Outstanding performance by the young man,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay told reporters postgame. “You know, he, from Pitch 1, seemed to be really focused. You couldn’t really tell if there were any nerves or not. He came right out and attacked. That was a great night for the young man.
“I think any time you get a guy that can go six innings in a game and have a quality start the first time out, that’s pretty impressive.”
Hoglund trusted his four-seam fastball, which he threw 34 times, and supplemented with a mix of his sinker, changeup and slider.
He shook Marlins designated hitter Agustín Ramírez with an 87-mph changeup in the first inning to earn his first career MLB strikeout.
The Athletics cruised top-to-bottom in Miami as their offense provided six runs in the first five innings to support Hoglund. Jacob Wilson, JJ Bleday, Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers all had one RBI, and the bullpen – Hogan Harris and Noah Murdock – finished Hoglund’s stellar debut unscathed.
Hoglund entered having carried a 2.43 ERA with 30 strikeouts through over six starts for Triple-A Las Vegas. His Athletics career starting quite ideally is no surprise.
And don’t look now, but the Green and Gold carry an 18-15 record and trail the Seattle Mariners (18-12) by 1.5 games for first in the narrow AL West. The Athletics were 16-17 after 33 games in 2024 and ultimately finished fourth.