Who is Lyon Richardson? Reds pitcher makes history in woeful MLB debut

ON August 6, pitcher Lyon Richardson made his MLB debut for the Cincinnati Reds. Fans of the team, who have witnessed so much young talent move in overnight this season, hoped for the best.

A 2nd round pick of the Reds in the 2018 draft, Richardson, a 6-foot-2 right-hander showed promise. He has surrendered eleven earned runs across 18 innings across an array of A leagues this season.

A designated starter, dreams came true for Richardson when the Reds called him up on August 6, more than five years after drafting him. A native of Jensen Beach, Florida, Richardson chose to ink a rookie deal with the Reds in 2018.

On August 6, Lyon Richardson took the ball against the Washington Nationals. The 23-year old Richardson could only watch as Nats outfielder CJ Abrams hammered his first-ever MLB pitch into the crowd. One batter later, Washington outfielder Lane Thomas deep Richardson deep, on the very next pitch.

"TALK ABOUTTA 1, 2 PUNCH! CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas go back-to-back on the 1st two pitches of the game." - Washington Nationals

Heartbreaking for any young pitcher, Richardson's debacle is actually historically bad. According to most reports, there has not been a pitcher who has surrendered subsequent home runs on his first two MLB pitches since the 1973 season, 50 years ago.

With a record of 59-49, the Reds have been one of the biggest success stories in the league this season. Youngsters like Spencer Steer and Elly De La Cruz have combined with veteran skill like Joey Votto to now be within a game of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. The Nationals, meanwhile, are 48-63, making them the second-wrost team in the entire National League.

"Lyon Richardson is the first MLB pitcher since 1973 to have his first two career pitches result in back-to-back home runs. (h/t OptaStats)" - WINCINNATI

Lyon Richardson needs to shrug off the stroke of bad luck

Just as we saw Domingo German pitch a perfect game for the New York Yankees this June, anything can happen in baseball. While Richardson has shown himself to be one of the top pitching futures in the Reds organization, he will, unfortunately be haunted by this most unfortunate sequence for longer than he would ever have imagined. Now, he must focus extra hard on throwing balls and getting outs, which is the only way he can improve the stock of his name.