Former Wood Duck Joe Palumbo Makes MLB Debut for Rangers

Kinston, N.C. - Joe Palumbo made his Major League debut for the Texas Rangers tonight, starting game one of a double-header, in a 10-5 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

Palumbo went four innings, giving up four runs on six hits, he struck out four, and did not walk a batter. The lefty held the A's scoreless in the first three innings, fanning Marcus Semien to begin the ballgame as his first MLB strikeout. All four runs he allowed came in the fourth inning. Matt Olsen hit a two-run home run to open the scoring, and later in the frame, Josh Phegley lined a two-run double. Palumbo exited with a 5-4 lead after throwing 66 pitches (43 strikes).
Palumbo becomes the fifth former Wood Duck to make his MLB debut, joining Ricardo Rodríguez , Jeffrey Springs , C.D. Pelham, and Brett Martin.
The left-hander first pitched for Down East in 2017. He made three starts, going 1-0 with a 0.66 ERA and striking out 22 while walking just four over 13.2 innings. Palumbo served as the opening day starter for the Wood Ducks, throwing the first pitch in team history. However, his season was cut short due to Tommy John surgery on April 26.
Palumbo returned to Down East at the end of 2018 following his rehab, and went 1-4 for the Wood Ducks with a 2.67 ERA in six starts. On August 7, he struck out a career-high 11 against Buies Creek, earning a promotion to Double-A Frisco two weeks later. In his final four starts of the year, split between Down East and Frisco, Palumbo pitched to a 0.92 ERA and struck out 30 while walking just six.
So far this season for Frisco, Palumbo has pitched to a 3.38 ERA over 10 games (9 starts). Opponents are batting .222 against him, and he has struck out 65 in 50.2 innings of work.
A native of Holbrook, New York, Palumbo was selected in the 30^th Round in 2013 out of St. John the Baptist High School in West Islip, and pitched for the Long Island Black Sox of the Long Island Men's League
against former Division I and professional players prior to the draft. Palumbo was recognized as an Arizona League All-Star for the Rangers in 2014 and was named an Organizational All-Star by MLB.com in 2018.