We have seen the likes of Shohei Ohtani make the transition from Japanese baseball to the MLB seamlessly. That was unfortunately not the case for Oakland Athletics pitcher Shintaro Fujinami, who had an absolutely brutal debut in the MLB Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels
Fujinami surprisingly got through the first six hitters including the likes of Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout flawlessly. However, things would take a drastic turn for the worse in the bottom of the third inning.
He would fail to retire each of the next six hitters, with his only out in the inning coming from a sacrifice fly. He would ultimately allow six runs in the inning before being pulled from the game.
Oakland brought in veteran reliever Adam Oller from the bullpen to help relieve the situation. Unfortunately, this only made things worse in what would end up being an 11-run inning for the Angels capped off by a Taylor Ward home run.
It was certainly not the debut that Fujinami was likely expecting, and fans had plenty to say about it.
Fujinami: 2.1 IP, 5 H 8 ER, 3 BB, 4 Ks… 30.86 ERA
He got rocked so hard today Mt. Fuji was raised four inches in elevation.
— Matt Ortega (@MattOrtega) April 1, 2023
While Fujinami clearly had his struggles, there were some bright spots that fans can take out of the debut. He threw a pretty nasty splitter that looks to be a serious weapon at the MLB level to strike out Angels outfielder Hunter Renfroe.
Obviously he and the Athletics organization would like to hit the reset button on this game and put it behind them. He will likely get his chance to avenge this horrible start next week against the Tampa Bay Rays.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.