Pirates reliever Cody Bolton tosses 2 scoreless innings in major-league debut at Nationals

Cody Bolton went from top-10 prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates to one who wondered whether he would get a shot at pitching in the major leagues — and only did after reinventing himself.

Four words best describe Bolton’s major-league debut Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader against the Washington Nationals: One pitch. One out.

When the 6-foot-3, 230-pound right-hander threw a 94-mph fastball that Stone Garrett hit for a flyout to right field, it was the start of two scoreless innings in relief — which included his first career strikeout — that went much smoother than his journey to the majors.

That his MLB debut was overshadowed by Jack Suwinski’s grand slam and Drew Maggi’s first career hit and RBI didn’t bother Bolton, who had a cheering section at Nationals Park. More than a dozen family members and friends were there to watch his debut, which made it even more special for the rookie reliever.

“They haven’t seen me play in a couple years,” Bolton told Robby Incmikoski of AT&T SportsNet in a postgame interview on the field, “so it’s really good to be able to have them here and support me.”

6-3 and 16-1 wins today. What a great ending to a double header sweep of the Nationals. Drew Maggi collects his 1st 2 MLB hits and pitcher Cody Bolton makes his MLB debut in the nightcap. After the game Robby Incmikoski interviewed both players with Bucco fans cheering them on. pic.twitter.com/APe7OtzN2O

— AT&T SportsNet™ PIT (@ATTSportsNetPIT) April 30, 2023

Bolton, 24, was ranked No. 10 among Pirates prospects in 2020-21 before requiring surgery on his right knee in the spring of ’21 that forced him to miss the entire season. When he returned to Triple-A Indianapolis last year, Bolton bounced back and forth between the starting rotation and the bullpen. Between 14 starts and 16 relief appearances, he went 4-2 with a 3.09 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 75 2/3 innings.

“It’s been a long journey, ups and downs throughout the journey with injuries and innings limits in past years,” Bolton said. “I wouldn’t view it as a setback. I would view it as motivation to get stronger in areas that I was lacking strength in. I’m in a good spot.”

This spring, the Pirates informed Bolton he would be staying in the bullpen. He made a strong impression in spring training, recording 10 strikeouts against two walks while holding hitters to a .160 batting average in seven innings over six Grapefruit League appearances.

“The transition has been going really well, and that’s one of the reasons he’s here,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He’s pitched his way into deserving to be at the major-league level. We’ve transitioned him into being a starter, being a hybrid and now kind of a multi-inning reliever, but he’s pitched really well.”

Shelton said Jeremy Bleich has watched Bolton pitch “a bunch” while visiting Indianapolis, where Bolton had 14 strikeouts against two walks in 11 1/3 innings over eight appearances this season.

“When we started to have conversations about our bullpen, it was time to get him to the big leagues,” Shelton said. “So we’re excited to add him into the group.”

Bolton learned of his promotion only after catching the ceremonial first pitch before Tuesday’s game at Victory Field in Indianapolis. Afterward, Indians manager Miguel Perez teased Bolton that the next time he decides to catch a first pitch, he better ask for Shelton’s permission first because it would be in Pittsburgh.

That’s how Bolton found out his contract was selected by the Pirates. He went to his apartment to started packing but couldn’t fall asleep. Then his flight was delayed three hours, and he missed the connection. Bolton was stuck in rush-hour traffic on the way from Pittsburgh International Airport to PNC Park, arriving five minutes before first pitch for Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

That was the night Maggi made his major-league debut in a storybook setting, with the crowd chanting his name in his first at-bat.

“Emotionally, I’m stoked to be here,” Bolton said Wednesday. “Definitely having a strong spring helps me realize that I can do this, that it’s something I’m capable of. Now I’ve just got to go out and execute it.”

Bolton did just that Saturday in the Pirates’ 16-1 win over the Nationals. He got Jeter Downs to go down swinging at a 2-2 sweeper for his first career strikeout, then got Victor Robles to pop up to second for a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

First career K for Cody ???? pic.twitter.com/wZFGbEhiKU

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 30, 2023

In the eighth, Bolton faced the top of the Nationals order. He jammed Alex Call with a fastball for a lineout to right and got Luis Garcia to line out to left before giving up an infield single to Michael Chavis. Bolton recovered, getting Joey Meneses to ground out to second.

The 33-year-old Maggi — who spent 13 seasons in the minors before his promotion last week — received a celebratory ice water shower, then congratulated Bolton in a postgame interview on AT&T SportsNet.

“The most important thing is Cody Bolton’s MLB debut,” Maggi said. “Talk about another grinder. He deserved every minute of that. That was special for me to watch that. I played with him last year, so I’m happy for him.”