Angels' Italian-Born Pitcher Had a Rocky Debut in More Ways Than One

It was far from the ideal start.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Sam Aldegheri made his MLB debut on Friday, becoming the fifth Italian-born pitcher to debut in the major leagues. He is the first Italian-born pitcher to do so since Marino Pieretti in 1950.

Unfortunately, Aldegheri's debut was rocky. He gave up five unearned runs to the Seattle Mariners in just the first inning and gave up a total of two earned runs on the day. Aldegheri finished the game allowing six hits, two earned runs, walking two, and striking out two as the Angels fell 9-5 to the Mariners.

“I had a little bit of a hard time, but I bounced back pretty good. I’m happy,” Aldegheri said, via Joe Reedy of The Associated Press. “First time I was kind of nervous, but I’m happy.”

The rocky start was ironic for Aldegheri, who came out to the field with the theme song from Rocky III playing. Earlier, he warmed up to the song "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor.

While Aldegheri likely didn't play as he would have hoped, he was called up fairly quickly to the major leagues after spending most of the season in High-A.

Aldegheri, who signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as an international free agent in 2019, never end played in Double-A before this season. He only reached High-A for the first time during his final four starts of the 2023 season.

Aldegheri started the 2024 season in High-A once again, where he went 6-5 with a 3.18 ERA and 95 strikeouts across 13 strikeouts. He was promoted to Double-A, where he started two games before he was traded to the Angels.

On the Angels, Aldegheri stayed in Double-A and joined the Rocket City Trash Pandas. He started four games for the Trash Pandas, going 0-2 with a 5.19 ERA and striking out 25. He was promoted to the majors without ever making an appearance with Triple-A Salt Lake or any Triple-A team.

The Angels have also promoted top prospect Caden Dana, who will make his debut on Sunday, Sep. 1. Dana also got promoted straight from Double-A, where he went 9-7 with a 2.52 ERA and 147 strikeouts.