PHILADELPHIA — Mick Abel started his motion and fired the first pitch of his major-league career at 1:36 p.m., a 98 mph four-seam fastball that was fouled back by Oneil Cruz. At 2:52 p.m., Abel threw his 84th, and final, offering of his major-league debut, a 95 mph fastball that ended up in Brandon Marsh’s glove for a fly out to end the top of the sixth inning of an eventual 1-0 Phillies win over the Pirates.
Between those two fastballs, Abel, 23, allowed five singles and kept the Pirates scoreless. His afternoon was done after the top of the sixth.