Former Notre Dame pitcher Brandon Bielak had quite the 2021 debut for the Houston Astros on Sunday. Called on to relieve Jose Urguidy with one out in the fifth inning, Bielak could not have had a better afternoon. Bielak pitched 4 2/3 perfect innings and struck out four to earn his first victory of the season as the Astros finished a road sweep of the Oakland Athletics by a 9-2 final. There was no need for Dusty Baker to use anymore of his bullpen while watching a performance like this:
4.2 IP of perfect ball. It Bielak that.#ForTheH | #CarryTheFreight pic.twitter.com/HhD0YMxKMG
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 5, 2021
Bielak, who celebrated his 25th birthday Friday, has been with the Astros since they selected him during the 11th round of the 2017 Amateur Draft. To date, Bielak is the only draftee from that round to crack the majors. He’s also the most recent Irish player to get to baseball’s highest level. While he hasn’t proven himself a starter there yet, he’s young enough to still do so, and this outing was a nice push in that direction.