Young Gun II
In just his second major league start, James Paxton was faced with the task of heading off the powerful St. Louis Cardinals at the new Busch Stadium.
No pressure right? Well if you ask this kid that’s the answer you will receive.
How on earth could he follow-up his debut, which was just a stellar as the one pitched a week earlier by Taijuan Walker who was also making his Major League debut.
Speaking of debuts, I’m no number cruncher (yet), but the Mariners have to hold the Major League record for Major League debut’s in one season.
I’ve honestly lost count of how many we’ve seen this year: Three catchers, the middle of the infield, an outfielder, and at least four pitchers, does that sound about right?
Two starts, two gems for James Paxton. (Photo: komonews.com)
Well anyways, let’s get back to Paxton.
When you got it, you got it
Paxton has a long list of great left-handed pitcher to follow if he wants to be one of the greats for this organization, but he has made a wonderful start to his career already.
Some call the September call-ups mop up work, others see it as an interview process for next season, but for Paxton, he’s showing the Mariners a reason why he should be in the rotation next year.
No ifs, ands or buts about it, this kid is something special.
The poise of this kid, whom I remind you is making his second career start, when going up against the Cards heavy hitters is priceless.
Yeah I know that technically the minor leagues are professional too, but nothing gets you ready for facing a team in the middle of not one, but two post-season hunts in hostile territory.
Strikeouts, inducing ground balls to end the inning, all in the name of keeping the Cardinals off of the scoreboard.
My favorite part of this video is seeing the frustration on Matt Holliday’s face after being struck out for the second time.
If I were Paxton I would try to get a FatHead of his face to hang over his bed so it’s the last thing he see’s every night.
At the end of the day, Paxton worked 6 innings, again, allowing 0 runs on 2 hits while striking out 5. He issued two walks as well, but the M’s were keen enough not to let them score. Paxton lowered his ERA to 0.75.
So here’s to the future, and here is the link to Paxton’s masterful performance.
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