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Pirates' Thomas Harrington Roughed Up By Rays in MLB Debut

Thomas Harrington made his major-league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but it did not go well for the 23-year-old right-hander. He gave up six runs in four innings in the 7-0 loss, struggling with control. He allowed four walks for the first time in his career.
Tom Brew|
Pittsburgh's Thomas Harrington throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night. He was making his MLB debut.
Pittsburgh's Thomas Harrington throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night. He was making his MLB debut. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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Pittsburgh Pirates

TAMPA, Fla. — The Pittsburgh Pirates have high hopes for Thomas Harrington, and they expect him to be a part of their starting rotation for years to come.

The future met the present on Tuesday night when Harrington, the Pirates' No. 3 prospect who's in MLB Pipeline's top-100, made his major-league debut against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Stadium.

It did not go well.

Harrington, a 23-year-old from Sanford, N.C., gave up six runs in four innings, and took the loss in the 7-0 defeat, Pittsburgh's fifth loss in six games. He gave up seven hits and, uncharacteristically, walked four batters. It certainly was the night he had hoped for.

“That definitely wasn't me tonight,” Harrington said. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever walked four people. I wish the game went a little bit better. But yeah, a great day for me and a great day for baseball."

Harrington had plenty of friends and family at the game, with folks flying in on short notice to see his debut. it was a frustrating start, though.

The scouting report on Harrington is that he throws strikeouts. Last year, he had a stingy 2.61 ERA over 117 1/3 innings, with 115 strikeouts and just19 walks as he quickly rose through the Pirates' farm system. He never walked more than two batters in a game.

But in the first inning against the Rays (4-1), he ran into all sorts of trouble — and some of it was self-induced. Yandy Diaz opened the game with a single, and then Harrington walked Brandon Lowe. Rays rookie Jake Mangum — who had four hits Monday — then drove them both in with a double to left. Kameron Mizner drove in Mangum with a single, and suddenly it was 3-0.

Harrington also gave up a run in the third on a single, walk and sacrifice fly, and then allowed a long two-run homer to Lowe in the fourth.

"The first inning, he got sped up a little bit with some jitters. He settled back down. That happens sometimes in your first start,'' Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. "We know he’s got good stuff, we just need to settle him down and make sure he gets in the zone.

"The big leagues are hard. You've got to slow yourself down, and that's the conversation guys will have with him. He'll get that feedback, which is important.''

Despite the result, it was certainly a special day for Harrington and his parents, Tommy and Tina. They made the trip to Florida to see a baseball dream come true.

The two teams meet again on Wednesday afternoon, with Pirates ace Paul Skenes taking the mount against Tampa Bay's Ryan Pepiot. The game starts at 1:10 p. m. ET

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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is a long-time award-winning writer and editor for some of the best newspapers in America, including the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun Sentinel. He has been a publisher with Sports Illustrated/FanNation for five years. He also has written four books.

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