Valiant Volstad Pitches Gem in Debut

For a split second, Kevin Gregg looked like he may become public enemy #1. But when Jeff Kent's long fly ball fell into Jeremy Hermida's glove for the final out of the game, Gregg earned his 3rd straight save, and Chris Volstad earned the win after surely breathing a giant sigh of relief. In the first major league start of his career, Volstad came within one inning of a shutout, and one out of a complete game. He pitched 8.2 outstanding innings, allowing only 1 run on 5 hits and threw just 100 pitches.

With his family in the stands, the 21 year old Volstad got early help with 3 runs on the board before he even toed the rubber, thanks to Hermida and Jorge Cantu home runs. It was lights out all night for the Gardens High grad. Volstad recorded 6 strike outs, and faced the minimum number of batters in innings 5 through 8. He also got his first major league hit in the game. Big Chris is now 2-0 for the Marlins, who have bounced back after a rough start to the road trip to win to win 3 in a row, and 5 of the last 6.

This start shows so much promise for the Marlins rookie. Drafted 16th overall in 2005, the Marlins have been looking forward to this day almost as much as Chris. Tonight made the wait worthwhile. Congratulations, Chris!