Adam Dunn of all people saw his first career action on the mound Tuesday when he pitched the 9th inning of his White Sox 16-0 blowout loss to the Texas Rangers, and he didn’t even embarrass himself.
Dunn started the 9th with his team down 15-0 and allowed a run on two hits and a walk. He got Elvis Andrus to ground out, JP Arencibia to foul out, and Rougned Odor to fly out. He did give up singles to Jim Aducci and Adam Rosales, and he walked Adrian Beltre. But check out the movement on this 81-mph pitch he threw to Beltre:
Was that his fastball? I’m not sure. He was mostly in the low-80s, which was enough to get the job done. And did he signal what pitch he was throwing to Andrus in that video? Sure looked like it.
The best to come out of Dunn’s pitching appearance may have been the great postgame quotes. Via MLB.com’s Scott Merkin:
Beltre on Dunn pitching: "If he hit somebody, we can’t charge the mound because he’s too big."
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) August 6, 2014
Eaton on Dunn: "I haven’t laughed on a baseball field like that in a long time, ever since I was probably kicking dandelions."
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) August 6, 2014
Dunn’s career ERA now stands at 9.00. Maybe manager Robin Ventura can give him another inning of relief work to see if he can lower it to a respectable 4.50.
GIF via @corkgaines
