Former Redhawk Dodd dazzles in MLB debut

ST. LOUIS — Every player’s career is a story in the grand old book of baseball, with tales stretching from the 19th century to the 21st.

On Tuesday, Southeast Missouri State alum Dylan Dodd added his chapter to that book. He toed the rubber on a Major League mound 98 miles from his college town and 179 miles from his hometown of Bismarck, Illinois.

Dodd threw five innings, allowing one run on six hits with three strikeouts, helping the Atlanta Braves defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 at Busch Stadium.

“I don't know that they know how they're gonna feel that first time they toe the rubber and especially in a place like this against this club,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “But he showed it all spring, the mound presence, the maturity, just the confidence in his pitches.”

“That first inning, I was so nervous,” Dodd said. “That was the most nervous I've ever been, but I'm just grateful that it was in a local area here. I was able to have a lot of friends and family.”

Dodd said he could hear his family cheering him on from the mound.

“That is everything,” Dodd said. “Their support of them makes it so much easier to show up every day.”

“For your first outing and all the people that he had here, as you can tell by the ovations and I thought he handled it unbelievably,” Snitker said.

Dodd entered the first inning with a cushion thanks to a two-run homer by Austin Riley. The Braves went on to score another run in the second and third inning, widening Dodd’s margin of error.

“Always pitching with the lead makes it easier for sure,” Dodd said.

Dodd became the first pitcher in franchise history to beat the Cardinals during his big league debut since Tom Tuckey pitched a shutout on August 11, 1908, when the team was known as the Boston Doves. To put that in perspective, the two franchises have been playing each other since 1892, for a total of 2,073 games.

The Braves left spring training knowing the plan was to have Dodd pitch on Tuesday but waited until Monday to select his contract and have him join the team in St. Louis.

“They have an incredible lineup,” Dodd said of the Cardinals. “Really before the game, I didn't even look at the roster and dive too much into it just because I was so nervous leading up to this game.”

“He got here with his three pitches and he said I’m gonna you know, attack with my three pitches,” said Braves catcher Sean Murphy. “I’m not going to try and get crafty or be somebody else. I’m just going to be who I am and make my pitches and let what happens happens.”

Dodd’s debut came shortly after fellow pitching prospect Jared Shuster made his big league debut, making this the first time in franchise history two starting pitchers made their MLB debut during the first five games of the season.

"You notice when young guys are getting opportunities and then living up to those opportunities and exceeding some expectations. We were able to see what both Schuster and Dodd this year their ability to do that," Braves veteran pitcher Collin McHugh said. "You can see flashes of guys who really can put it together and you hope they could do it over a long haul in a big league season. It's just, there's an excitement to a debut that's hard to replicate."

Atlanta Braves pitcher Dylan Dodd, left, fist bumps with catcher Sean Murphy as they walk towards the dugout after the second inning of a game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Dodd, who pitched forSoutheast Missouri State from 2019-21, made his MLB debut.Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

With the win, the Braves (27-25) remain the only visiting National League team to have a winning record in Busch Stadium.