Jackson Jobe’s inaugural flight Sunday as a Lakeland Flying Tigers pitcher was akin to the Wright Brothers’ first lift-off: short.
Jobe, 19, who was the Tigers’ first pick a year ago and third overall in the 2021 MLB Draft, worked in his first professional game, a one-inning cameo that saw him throw 19 pitches and allow two unearned runs in a low-Single A game at Bradenton.
Jobe had not pitched in a competitive game since last May when he was a senior at Heritage Hall in Oklahoma City.
He allowed a ground single, walked a batter, and threw one wild pitch during his one inning of work that also included a pair of RBI sacrifice flies from Bradenton batters.
An error by shortstop Izaac Pacheco on what could have been a double-play ball set up the two-run inning for Bradenton.
Jobe threw but eight strikes in what likely was a nervous experience for a right-handed pitcher 11 months removed from game situations. Last year, during his senior spring at Heritage Hall, Jobe walked only five batters while striking out 122.
Lynn Henning is a freelance writer and former Detroit News sports reporter.
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