DETROIT – Sometimes it's hard for a new pitcher to show what he can really do. He's in a big city, pitching in a big stadium. The excitement from getting the call to the majors quickly gives way to nerves when it's time to throw that first pitch.
That was not the case for Kohl Stewart on Sunday. For the first four innings, Stewart was a ground-ball inducer while a large cheering section of his family and friends could be heard shrieking after each out.
"I was really nervous leading up to the game," he said. "When the game got started, I was fine. I felt like it was another start, and that's how I tried to treat it. It was honestly a blast. I mean, you're only going to do that once for the first time. I was having a lot of fun."
He just needed to make a few more high-quality pitches.
Stewart's major league debut was going fine until the fifth inning, when he lost one long battle, lost his focus for a moment, then was pulled from a game the Twins ended up losing 4-2.
The former fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft was charged with three runs over 4⅓ innings. He allowed eight hits, with one walk and one strikeout. But the Twins offense didn't get a hit from the third through seventh innings, and Ehire Adrianza's wrong decision while fielding a chopper led to at least one Tigers run.
"I thought for his first time he composed himself fairly well," said Twins manager Paul Molitor, who plans to give Stewart another start. "He threw it over for the most part. Kind of, as reports indicated, not a lot of swings and misses."
Through four innings, Stewart got nine of 12 outs through ground balls, including two double plays. He needed just nine pitches to get through the fourth. Only three balls had been hit out of the infield.
