When Severino Gonzalez takes the mound Tuesday night at Busch Stadium, he will become the 10th Phillie since Cole Hamels in May 2006 to start for the Phillies in his major-league debut.
It will be interesting to see whether Gonzalez's exceptional command (67 walks in 415 minor-league innings) carries over in his first start against a veteran Cardinals lineup.
No Phillie since Brett Myers in 2002 has pitched more than six innings in debut start. And using Hamels in 2006 as the cutoff, the only Phillies SPs to have won their debuts were David Buchanan last May and Antonio Bastardo in June 2009.
The last debuting Phillie to toss a quality start (at least six innings, no more than three earned runs) was Tyler Cloyd on Aug. 29, 2012.
The Phillies on that list have mostly pitched well, with only Ethan Martin, J.A. Happ and Zack Segovia turning in clunkers.
Here's the full list. Keep in mind that this list includes only Phillies who started their major-league debuts. So Vance Worley, for example, is not listed because he pitched in relief in the majors before making his first start.
David Buchanan - May 24, 2014
5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K — Win
MLB
Ethan Martin — August 2, 2013
4 1/3 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 6 K (2 HR allowed) — Loss
Jonathan Pettibone — April 22, 2013
5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K (2 HR allowed)
Tyler Cloyd — Aug. 29, 2012
6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (1 HR allowed) — Loss
Antonio Bastardo — June 2, 2009
6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (1 HR allowed) — Win
J.A. Happ — June 30, 2007
4 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (3 HR allowed) — Loss
Kyle Kendrick — June 13, 2007
6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Zack Segovia — April 8, 2007
5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (1 HR allowed) — Loss
Scott Mathieson — June 17, 2006
6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (1 HR allowed) — Loss
Cole Hamels — May 12, 2006
5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 7 K
The combined numbers for these 10 starting debuts: 2-5 record, 5.30 ERA in 52 2/3 innings with 47 strikeouts, 18 walks and 11 home runs allowed.