Former Virginia Baseball player Artie Lewicki makes MLB Debut

Former Virginia Cavaliers star pitcher Artie Lewicki made his Major League Baseball debut today for the Detroit Tigers. Originally drafted by the Tigers back in 2014 in the 8th round of the MLB Draft, Lewicki was called up this weekend to pitch for Detroit after they traded star pitcher Justin Verlander to the Houston Astros.

Lewicki becomes the 12th former UVA player to play in the MLB this season, and 39th overall. Lewicki was 14-4 with a 3.38 ERA for AAA Toledo and AA Erie this year. At Virginia, Lewicki was the star pitcher in the Hoos runner up College World Series finish in 2014, after not allowing a run in 23 innings of the NCAA Tournament. Below is a video of his first major league strikeout:

The former Hoo had an uphill battle for Detroit, who had lost four straight heading into the afternoon match. Lewicki’s start was far from ideal, giving up five earned runs on 11 hits, with one walk and one strikeout in five innings. As Detroit continues to find a way to recover from being 21 games below .500, Lewicki hopes to keep his spot in the rotation with the Tigers.