That was not the type of ball the Diamondbacks were looking for.
Arizona’s 24-year-old rookie Slade Cecconi made his first career MLB start Wednesday night, and if the first at-bat is any indication, it’s going to be nuts.
The right-hander recorded his first career strikeout against Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. via video review when umpires deemed the play a punchout after the ball ricocheted off the knob of Wade’s bat into catcher José Herrera’s groin, where he pinned it down and grabbed it.
“The ball — the pitched ball — hit the bat, went into the catcher’s glove. The call is overturned, it’s a foul ball, it’s strike three,” umpire Dan Iassogna said.
“That would be the oddest first strikeout in this young kid’s career,” Duane Kuiper in the Giants’ TV booth on NBC Sports Bay Area said.
“I’ve never seen it happen where it gets caught in a guy’s crotch before. I guarantee that’s not in the rulebook,” analyst Mike Krukow added.
Cecconi, who was drafted out of the University of Miami as a fourth-rounder in 2020, was called up from Triple-A Reno to make his debut after injuries felled a few members of the rotation.
Tommy Henry, another young starter, went on the injured list Sunday with elbow inflammation, while Zach Davies has been out with a back issue.
Along with that, reliever Austin Adams also fractured his right ankle.
Cecconi has posted unspectacular numbers in the minor leagues, tossing 103 innings in Triple-A this season with a 6.38 ERA while striking out just over nine batters per nine innings and walking two and a half in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
The Diamondbacks have been one of MLB’s great surprises this season, as their young core of players — led by Rookie of the Year favorite Corbin Carroll — has led the team to be just a half-game out of a wild card spot.
Arizona had an active trade deadline, acquiring former Mets outfielder Tommy Pham and reliever Paul Sewald from the Mariners.
