PITTSBURGH -- Stephen Kolek is hardly a stranger to a big league mound. Yet, after 42 Major League relief appearances, his first career start Sunday afternoon marked another chapter in his career.
Originally selected out of Texas A&M by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2018 MLB Draft, Kolek was given an opportunity to make a start due to a flurry of injuries to some of the Padres’ most trusted arms.
The 28-year-old right-hander made the most of his opportunity, firing 5 1/3 scoreless innings in San Diego’s 4-0 victory over the Pirates, finishing off a three-game sweep at PNC Park. He allowed four hits and walked a pair, while striking out four on just 84 pitches.
“It’s a little different [than starting],” said Kolek, who improved to 4-0 as a big leaguer. “But at the same time, to me it felt like my debut all over again. First time getting to do something I haven't done yet. New city, playing against a new team, different job. But I was having a lot of fun with it. Everything went good today, so it’s a great day.”
Kolek opened his outing by striking out Oneil Cruz looking, part of a nine-pitch first inning. While it was his lone 1-2-3 inning on the day, he was able to work in and out of trouble during each ensuing occasion.
After allowing a pair of one-out singles in the second inning, Kolek struck out Adam Frazier and picked off Ke’Bryan Hayes at second base to end the threat. Kolek allowed a runner to second base in the third inning with just one out, but struck out Cruz and Bryan Reynolds in succession to escape the threat once again. Then in the fourth, after allowing a leadoff single, Kolek got Enmanuel Valdez to fly out and Hayes to ground into an inning-ending double play.
The Padres’ offense combined for four runs in the first two innings, fueled by Xander Bogaerts' three RBIs on two hits, allowing Kolek to go right after Pittsburgh hitters. He exited the game after issuing a one-out walk in the sixth.
“He was good. Yeah, he was really good,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “Threw the ball for five-plus and controlled the strike zone. A lot of good life to it. Got us some quick outs and did a really, really good job.”
“My mindset was to try and put up as many zeros as I could from the very beginning,” Kolek said. “It’s obviously a big relief, I guess a little bit, when you see the four runs [after the second inning], but you can't let that pull you out of focus and be like ‘OK, now I can kind of ease up a little bit.’ Like no, I’m still trying to act like it’s a 0-0 game and just continue putting up zeros.”
The Padres pushed their win streak to five games.
“It felt good to get out there and help this team continue what they’ve been doing,” Kolek said. “To finish off this final game of the series with a win is awesome.”
Kolek has pitched in 149 games in the Minor Leagues over six seasons, amassing a 26-26 record with a 4.62 ERA. He started games from 2019-22 across four levels of the Dodgers and Seattle Mariners’ farm systems, but came out of the bullpen exclusively in 2024 after getting selected by San Diego in the Rule 5 Draft.
Kolek saw his 2024 season come to an end after battling a case of right forearm tendinitis in late July. At the time of his injury, his 42 appearances were tied for third most in San Diego’s bullpen.
The organization has since made the decision to transition him back to a full-time starter. Kolek said that during the opening stretch of the season at Triple-A El Paso, he’d been working on locating all of his pitches so he can utilize his full arsenal -- sinker, slider, four-seam fastball and changeup -- at the big league level.
Kolek showed his potential to be a big league-caliber starter during Spring Training when he posted a 2.60 ERA with 12 strikeouts over five games, three of which were starts in the Cactus League. He went on to post a 20:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio at Triple-A this season, despite a 6.38 ERA in five starts.
“It’s a whole other ballgame trying to get through five innings in this league,” Kolek said. “When you’re facing a lineup multiple times it becomes increasingly harder and harder. First time getting to do that in the big leagues, thankfully it was a success, but it was super exciting and I can't wait to do it again.”