Ex-Yankees utility player made 2024 pitching debut, didn’t give up a run

Ronel Blanco’s no-hitter wasn’t the only notable pitching performance in the Houston Astros’ win Monday night.

One also came via his opponent, utility player Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who started at third base for the Toronto Blue Jays and finished on the mound.

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RESTORING THE GLORY

In the 10-0 Astros win, Kiner-Falefa threw a scoreless inning, allowing only a walk, on seven pitches. In the top of the ninth inning at Rogers Centre, Kiner-Falefa walked Jeremy Pena and got Jake Meyers and Mauricio Dubón to pop out to second base.

As a member of the New York Yankees in 2022-23, Kiner-Falefa made four pitching appearances: four innings, one earned run and a strikeout.

Suffice to say, Kiner-Falefa takes utility player to the extreme, with the only position he has not played in his seven-year career being first base. He has logged most of his appearances at shortstop and third base.

According to Thomas Nestico’s pitch modeling, Kiner-Falefa’s seven fastball’s graded well below average — not surprising! — at -384 stuff-plus. Kiner-Falefa’s fastball averaged 66.2 mph.

Meanwhile, the more impressive pitching outing came from Blanco, who threw a nine-inning no-hitter, walking two and striking out seven. It was his eighth career start.