Skip to main content

Former Virginia baseball star Andrew Abbott continued his stellar rookie campaign, pitching six scoreless innings to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a pivotal 4-3 road victory against their division rival Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. Abbott struck out nine batters and gave up seven hits and one walk with no earned runs. This was Abbott's second-consecutive shutout start and the rookie phenom has now pitched 16 consecutive scoreless innings. 

Abbott is making history through his first 10 starts, as he now has a 6-2 record and a 1.90 ERA, giving up 13 total earned runs in 61.2 innings pitched and posting 66 strikeouts to 19 walks. According to UVA sports stats expert Danny Neckel, Abbott joined Nolan Ryan as the only two pitchers in MLB history to record 65 strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA through their first 10 starts. 

The emergence of Abbott, as well as a few other impressive rookies like Elly De La Cruz, has the Reds on the cusp of overtaking the Brewers for the NL Central lead. With Cincinnati's victory in Milwaukee on Tuesday, the Reds now trail the Brewers by only half a game heading into Wednesday's rubber match that will determine the division lead. 

With Andrew Abbott developing into an ace before their eyes, the Reds are building some serious momentum entering the back end of the MLB season. 

Stay up to date on all the former Virginia athletes playing at the professional level here: Pro Hoos on Sports Illustrated

See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated

To stay up to date on all Virginia Cavaliers sports news, follow CavaliersNow on social media:

Facebook: @CavaliersNow
Twitter: @CavaliersNowFN