PITTSBURGH — Little in what Taylor Jungmann did during his 11 games with Triple-A Colorado Springs this season provided much hope that he would have a dominant major league debut.
However, the 25-year-old right-hander mowed down the Pittsburgh Pirates for seven innings Tuesday, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 4-1 win. Jungmann, the Brewers’ first-round draft pick in 2011 from the University of Texas, allowed just one run on three hits while striking out five and walking one against a team that won 14 of its previous 18 games.
Jungmann was 2-3 with a 6.37 ERA in the Pacific Coast League. However, he had a 3.92 ERA in his last three starts, and Brewers manager Craig Counsell said he had a feeling that Jungmann’s experience of playing at a high level of college baseball would serve him well in his first big league game.
“He’s been on the big stage before, and I think he enjoys it,” Counsell said. “The way he pitched tonight, that’s as good as it gets. He did a nice job. He did a really good job of getting his fastball over the plate.”
Jungmann became the third Brewers starter to make his major league debut in a 10-day span, following right-handers Tyler Wagner and Tyler Cravy. While Wanger and Cravy were sent right back to the minors after being called on to make emergency spot starts, Jungmann will get another start Sunday against the Washington Nationals.
“It’s good to know I’m getting a chance to stay,” Jungmann said. “I’m looking forward to getting another chance.”
Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer believes Jungmann will present problems for any team that sees him for the first time.
“He throws across his body, so it looks like he’s going to throw the ball behind you,” the right-handed-hitting Mercer said. “It’s something that you rarely see. … He’s spotting well. … He was using the curveball for effectiveness. … He went to the fastball a lot. I think that stepping behind you and throwing it, that just threw a lot of us off because you don’t see it that often.”
