Former HiToms pitcher with quite the MLB Debut:Rookie Mac Sceroler works 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief with 4 strikeouts

Former HiTom Mac Sceroler Shines on MLB’s Brightest Stage, in his Major League Debut, at Yankee Stadium…..
from www.mlb.com:

No matter if you’re a future Hall of Famer or just getting a cup of coffee, you never forget your Major League debut. They are always unforgettable for the players making them, regardless of the outcome, context or circumstance. And sometimes they offer glimpses of greatness to come.

They are also the type of milestones in large supply lately for teams like the Orioles, who are prioritizing youth and are geared toward the future. This is why their 2021 season figures to be full of nights like Monday, when two debuts highlighted a 7-0 loss to the Yankees in the Bronx.

Within the O’s first defeat of the year came their first big league looks at right-hander Mac Sceroler and outfielder Ryan McKenna, two of six rookies to appear for the club already in 2021.

“When guys make their debuts and are in a Major League stadium for the first time, it’s a really special feeling,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I’m sure their hearts are beating super fast.”

Here is how they fared, along with a running list of all the O’s debuts this year:

Mac Sceroler, RHP
Prospect ranking: Unranked
Debut date: April 5

One of two Rule 5 Draft picks to win a bullpen job out of Spring Training, Sceroler made the jump from Class A Advanced (in the Reds’ system) to the Orioles’ Opening Day roster. He was then thrown right into the fire: inheriting a bases-loaded, one-out jam from Paul Fry in Monday’s sixth inning. His first batter? Judge, whose solo homer off Jorge López in the fourth inning provided the Yankees a lead they wouldn’t give back.

Sceroler was unfazed, freezing Judge with a 3-2 fastball en route to escaping the jam unscathed, and retiring his first seven big league hitters overall.

“I could finally breathe,” Sceroler said afterward. “I knew I was still in the game so I couldn’t relax too much, but I could take a few minutes to process what just happened, breathe and then get back to competing out there.”

By the end of the outing, he’d logged 2 2/3 scoreless innings of mop-up relief, striking out four and walking two. Meanwhile, unknown to Sceroler, the Orioles’ broadcast Zoomed with his uncle, former O’s pitcher and current analyst Ben McDonald.

“To be put in a situation like that, that’s what everyone wants to be put in just to prove themselves,” Sceroler said. “To show I can pitch and get the job done. It was comforting for me, to be put in that situation and to succeed.”