It didn’t take long for former Mississippi State pitcher J.T. Ginn to take the field after being called up to the Oakland Athletics earlier this week.
On Wednesday night, the right-hander was sent out of the bullpen in the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays. Despite limited experience as a reliever, Ginn immediately impressed by striking out three of four batters he faced in his first inning as a major league pitcher.
Have a first inning in The Show, J.T. Ginn 👀 pic.twitter.com/MYLrBi12io
— Oakland A’s (@Athletics) August 22, 2024
Ginn trotted back out for the top of the ninth and retired the three batters in order. His only baserunner during two innings of scoreless work was via a walk in the eighth. Oakland ultimately fell 4-2, but not due to Ginn’s performance.
After the impressive debut, Ginn told MLB.com that he knew it was going to be a solid outing once he threw his first warm-up pitch inside the Oakland Coliseum.
“I threw the first warmup pitch where I wanted to,” Ginn said. “I kind of had a feeling it was going to be good after that. It ended up working out.”
The 25-year-old was promoted on Tuesday after a solid run with Triple-A Las Vegas. Ginn’s debut was exactly what the A’s were hoping for after trading for the Brandon native as part of the Chris Bassitt deal in March 2022.
