On Wednesday, Koby Allard pitched for the Braves for the first time since Aug. 17, 2018. The former first-round pick spent the last four seasons with the Rangers (2019-22) after a trade. He was traded back to the Braves this year, but has been sidelined with a strained oblique muscle suffered in spring training.
Allard made his first start for the Braves since July 31, 2018 when he faced the Twins.
This is how his first inning went:
*Donovan Solano struck out swinging.
*Byron Buxton struck out swinging.
*Royce Lewis struck out swinging.
Three up. Three down. Just 14 pitches.
In his 4-2/3 innings, Allard struck out eight Twins, six in the first time through the lineup. He was one off his career-best for strikeouts.
When he struck out the side, consecutively, he became the second Braves starter to so begin a game this season. You may have guessed that Spencer Strider was the other. He is the only Braves starter to strike out the side consecutively in the first inning of his season debut since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966.
