2 days Ago By The Oklahoman
SEATTLE — Jackson Jobe knows nothing will come easy.So it’s no surprise that his first major league start didn’t quite go as he’d hoped.But Jobe has it out of the way.
The Heritage Hall product and third overall pick in the 2021 draft made his first career start Monday, giving up three runs on three hits over four innings in the Detroit Tigers’ 9-6 win over the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.“I’m feeling all right,” Jobe said after the win. “Wish I had a couple of those pitches back, but I feel like I pitched well in certain situations and things I could’ve done better.
But we got the win so we’ll keep rolling.”Among the crowd at T-Mobile Park was Jobe’s parents, Brandt and Jennifer, and his personal pitching coach.“It’s a little surreal,” Brandt said.
“All the Little League baseball and us taking him all over the place, you never really think it’s going to amount to much, right? You pray for him to play high school ball, if you’re lucky college and usually that’s where it ends.“But this has been quite a ride.”More: MLB Opening Day: 10 Oklahomans you should know as 2025 baseball season beginsIt took Jobe quite some time to even get to the mound once the game started.
The Tigers scored six runs in the first inning, causing Jobe to retreat to the cages to stay fresh while his team was sending 11 batters to the plate.“Good problem to have for sure,” Jobe said.Tigers manager A.
J. Hinch, also an Oklahoma product, said he experience was a good lesson for the 22-year-old pitcher.“What we wanted him to do is pound the strike zone and when he did he got nicked away a little bit,” said Hinch, a Midwest City alum.
Jobe retired the side in order in the first on just 11 pitches.The fourth batter he faced, Randy Arozarena, belted Jobe’s first pitch of the second inning — a 97 mph fastball — out to left-center.He allowed another run in the third and then a leadoff homer to Luke Raley in the fourth as Brenan Hanifee warmed up in the bullpen.
When Victor Robles came to the plate with two outs and one on later in the inning, Hinch had decided it would be Jobe’s last batter regardless of the outcome.More: Detroit Tigers cruise past Seattle Mariners in 9-6 win for first victory of 2025 seasonAfter starting Robles with a 3-0 count, Jobe battled back to strike out Robles swinging on the ninth pitch of the at-bat.“It was huge,” Jobe said.
“I knew the pitch count was getting up there.”Jobe wasn’t thrilled about it, but his night was done.“He’s going to have plenty of games where he’s going deeper to the middle or late part of the game,” Hinch said.
“I was proud of his effort.”Jobe finished with 79 pitches, 48 of them for strikes.“I think he’s got elite stuff and he’s got to use it,” Hinch said.
“Where they ambushed him because he’s a strike thrower and they’re going to be very aggressive and they didn’t care what the score was. You could tell from the first or second hitter what their plan was, so he’ll make some adjustments, be able to throw secondary pitches for strikes and then he can make his fastball better and not get ambushed the way he did.”While Monday was his first start in the majors, it wasn’t Jobe’s first appearance.
Last September, Jobe was packed and about to head back home to Oklahoma City when he got a call.Then he had to make a call.“Mom, I’m not coming home,” Jobe told his mother.
More: Yankees' torpedo bats created by ex-Michigan physicist: Everything to know about new batsSo instead his parents made their way to watch their son’s Tigers debut.It was something that didn’t seem like a possibility not that long ago.But late in Jobe’s career at Heritage Hall, he grew significantly, put on more weight and his velocity took a dramatic climb.
“That senior year he sprouted and all of the sudden, it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh,” Brandt Jobe said. “Fifty guys with radar guns like the movies and I’m like, ‘Maybe there’s a little more to this.’”That was around the same time that the abstract dream of playing in the bigs started to come into focus for Jackson.
“I knew that God had given me something special,” Jackson said. “I knew there was going to be a lot of work to put in but I knew I had a chance.”Jobe was thrust right into the middle of a playoff race last season as Detroit made an improbable run to the American League Division Series.
As the game wore on Sept. 25 against Tampa Bay at home, and with the Tigers holding a 7-1 lead going into the ninth, fans started clamoring for Jobe’s debut, chanting his name and finally erupting when he walked out of the bullpen to head to the mound.“It was amazing,” Jennifer said.
Jobe ultimately came out of the bullpen twice during the regular season and twice more in the playoffs.“I expect him to be a little anxious like all the guys that have their first start of the year, but it’s not the most stressful game he’s pitched in,” Hinch said.After that experience, Monday felt a little more like a normal outing for Jobe, even if there was a little bit extra meaning to it.
“It’s honestly, I wouldn’t say easier, but I’m way more used to starting,” Jobe said. “Been doing that for my whole career so felt a little more in my routine, felt a little more comfortable, but super grateful for the opportunity I got last year being able to throw in the pen because I feel like it gave me a lot of confidence coming into this year kind of just being thrown into the fire.”He got there last year, now it’s his aim to stay.
“It’s great to get here, but you want more than a cup of coffee,” Brandt said. “You want to have breakfast, lunch and dinner here. He’s got a lot on his plate but I think he’s ready.
”This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Jackson Jobe settles into Tigers' rotation as he makes first MLB start.
