Former UVA star Abbott first Reds pitcher since 1893 to post 6 scoreless IP of 1-hit ball in debut

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Andrew Abbott was jacked up to the max on Monday night, making his Major League debut with the Cincinnati Reds. The former Virginia star pitcher couldn’t help being excited, as he led the Reds to a 2-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The 24-year-old southpaw handcuffed Brewers bats for six innings, allowing only one hit, striking out six and walking four.

Abbott became the first Reds pitcher since 1893 (that’s not a typo) to post at least six shutout innings while allowing no more than one hit in a Major League debut. According to OptaSTATS, he is the only left-handed hurler in baseball’s Modern Era (from any team) to go six-plus shutout innings with six-plus strikeouts and no more than one hit allowed in his MLB debut.

The South Boston (Va.) lefty isn’t known for a powerful fastball, but he was so amped up that he was hitting 95 mph on the radar guns.

“I felt really good, honestly,” Abbott told reporters after the game. “I had another day of rest because I was supposed to go Sunday (for Triple-A Louisville). Just seeing the crowd, taking it all in, stuff definitely gets your adrenaline pumping so you throw a little bit harder than normal.”

Abbott’s fastball normally is in the low 90s, but he is a four-pitch hurler who has an effective curve, slider and change-up that has made him Cincinnati’s top pitching prospect and earned him a ticket to the Majors.

“It probably took him until the second or third [inning] to really settle in and once he did that, he was really in command the rest of the game and used all his pitches,” said Reds manager David Bell. 

Abbott retired 10-straight Brewers before they managed their first hit against him, a double to left.

“I think our pitching and defense played a good game, but we couldn’t hit,” Milwaukee third baseman Luis Urias said. “I think that’s a moment [Abbott] won’t forget. After the third, fourth inning, he got control of the game.”

That’s exactly what Cincinnati hoped the rookie would do and he delivered, stopping a four-game Reds losing streak.

“I know I’m going to have a mountain of things to go through on my phone after this, but it’s been a dream come true,” Abbott said.

Cincinnati catcher Luke Maile was impressed with what he saw in the young pitcher.

“There’s a lot of great takeaways, but there’s a next level to his game that he hasn’t found yet,” Maile said. “Hopefully we’ll get there.”

THIS 👇 #ProHoos https://t.co/1iU5U4lUzU

— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) June 6, 2023