By Scott Barancik, editor

Cincinnati’s Jon Moscot made his MLB debut against the Padres last night, and while it wasn’t all smooth sailing, the 23-year-old finished strong.

Called-up at the last minute to replace the injured Raisel Iglesias (see article), Moscot — who wasn’t even on the Reds’ 40-man roster — struck out the first batter he faced before giving up two singles, three walks (including one with the bases loaded) and two runs in a 37-pitch first inning. He gave up one more run each in the second and third innings and ultimately was tagged with the loss as San Diego prevailed 602.

“When you get out on that mound and you have a third deck in the stadium, it takes over a little bit,” Moscot told reporters afterward. “I wasn’t pitching my game that first inning, I just normally attack hitters and I was trying to be too fine.”

But the 2012 draft pick finished strong, retiring the final seven batters he faced and eleven of the last 12. He struck out three batters and tossed 83 over five innings, 51 of them for strikes.

“It was unbelievable,” he said. “This is amazing. It’s a dream come true.”

“I thought he really managed the game well after that first inning,” manager Bryan Price said. “He gave up a couple other runs, but he had much better command. He attacked the zone. He was maybe a little fine early. He had the three walks in the first inning. He was around the plate, but just off, just down. That’s what you tend to expect from young guys who come up here and make their debut. All in all, I think he rallied and I liked his stuff.”

Moscot is scheduled to pitch against the Phillies on June 10.

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