Former Hoosier Kyle Hart Gets First MLB Win Monday For 5-0 San Diego Padres

SAN DIEGO — Kyle Hart is 32 years old, so it's no stretch to say he's waited a long time — a very, very, very long time — to get his first major-league victory.

But he did just that on Monday night, pitching five strong innings in front of family and friends, and leading the San Diego Padres to a 7-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians. The left-hander from Cincinnati, who pitched collegiately at Indiana from 2012 to 2016, said it was worth the wait.

“I’ve waited a long time for that beer shower right there,” Hart said after the game, which included a postgame locker room celebration for the Padres, who are 5-0 for the first time in team history. “This would probably be better than anything I imagined, especially at Petco.

"And against Cleveland. I’m not the biggest Cleveland sports fan. Any time you can beat Cleveland is good — as a Cincinnatian.”

Hart is one of the best pitchers in Indiana baseball history. He was 31-12 during his five years at IU, with a 2.83 career ERA. He was part of the 2013 team that reached the College World Series, the first and only time Indiana has ever done that.

He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 19th round of the 2016 MLB Draft, and he was a rising star with them his first two years, appearing in 26 games — including 22 starts — where he was 6-7 with a flashy 2.17 ERA.

But he toiled through the minors for three more years before finally getting the call to the big leagues with the Red Sox in 2020. That was the COVID year, though, and he made his MLB debut on Aug. 13 in an empty Fenway Park. No one saw it in person, even his parents, Roger and Lauri Hunt.

“We couldn’t even be there (at Fenway in 2020) because there was nobody in the stands,” Roger Hart told MLB.com outside the Padres clubhouse on Monday night, "This was our first chance to see him pitch at the Major League Baseball level.

“That was a good feeling to be able to be here for that, just to be a part of it.”

Hart threw 80 pitches Monday night in front of 43,404 fans and allowed five hits while walking one and striking out four. He allowed solo home runs to Jose Ramirez and Austin Hedges — but that was it. He left with a five-run lead and helped make history. San Diego has never started a season 5-0 in its 57-year history.

It was dramatically better than his debut five years ago, when he gave up seven runs to Tampa Bay in just two innings in that August 2020 game. He pitched three more times that year, and it was all ugly. He allowed 19 earned runs in just 11 innings of work. His 15.55 ERA was one ugly number — and Hart used to joke that he hesitated at times to tell people he wa a big-league ballplayer ''for fear that they'd look up my stats.''

Hart spent 2021-23 in the minors in the Red Sox organization, with middling results. He had a cup of coffee in the Phillies and Mariners' organizations, but then in 2024 he decided to go play pro ball in Korea — and it's changed his baseball path completely.

Getting the chance to start regularly, he added a sweeper — which has been unhittable — and made some mechanical adjustments to his delivery. He had great success. where he struck out 182 batters in 157 innings and posted a 13-3 record and a 2.69 ERA. He won the Korean equivalent of the Cy Young Award.

Kyle Hart Sweeper with 20” of sweep. pic.twitter.com/chtstamqFE
— Danny (@dannybarrand_) April 1, 2025

He signed with San Diego in the spring, and earned a spot in the rotation. The Padres are playing great, so when it turned rolled around the Monday, he said he was relaxed and ready to go — even five years after his MLB debut.

I caught up with Kyle Hart yesterday before he makes his Padres debut against the Guardians tonight. pic.twitter.com/sHB8KegwWu
— Sammy Levitt (@SammyLev) March 31, 2025

“I feel confident,” Hart said Sunday afternoon. “I think it’s much easier to feel confident when we’ve won the first three games and just seeing how much energy and focus that we’ve played with. So I’m comfortable with this group, both of these catchers. Kind of done all my homework.”

Hart's next start will likely come in the Midwest. He's penciled in to start for the Padres on Sunday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs.