Pitching as close to home as he has in his professional baseball career, Martin County West graduate Brandon Williamson had a second straight solid start for the Louisville Bats in their International League game vs. the Iowa Cubs Thursday at Principal Park in Des Moines.
The Bats are the Cincinnati Reds’ Triple-A affiliate while the I-Cubs are an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.
Williamson took a no-decision in Louisville’s 4-3 win. The score was 2-2 when he left the game.
Pitching in front of a number of family members and friends, he started the game with two straight strikeouts and would pitch three straight scoreless innings before allowing two runs in the fourth.
Williamson worked around a leadoff walk in the fifth inning and held the Cubs scoreless. He struck out the final batter he faced and left the game with the score tied at 2-2.
In five innings the left-hander allowed two runs on four hits, walked five and struck out six. He threw 96 pitches, 52 for strikes.
The last time Williamson pitched so close to home was in 2018 with North Iowa Area Community College.
“It was basically a home game,” Williamson said after Thursday's game while taking pictures and signing autographs for several of his fans that were in attendance. “I think we had more fans here than the Cubs did.
“It's definitely the closest I've played to home (as a professional). It was awesome seeing how many people came out” Williamson told the NIACC Athletic Department website.
“You definitely don't want to get shelled in the first with a bunch of people driving all the way down here,” Williamson said. “After the first inning, I settled in.”
Williamson was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 36th round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft before playing at Texas Christian in 2019.
He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the second round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, TX).
Williamson played with the Low-A Everett Aqua Sox in 2019 before the 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the pandemic. He split 2021 between Everett (now a High-A team) and Double-A Arkansas.
The Mariners traded Williamson to the Reds’ organization this spring.
He said that he was pleased with Thursday’s outing.
“The walks were up but I've been dealing with that,” he said. “They didn't hit the ball hard once. I just kind of got unlucky. I felt I made good pitches.”
It was Williamson’s seventh start for Louisville. He has a 1-3 record with a 4.02 earned run average.
In 31.1 innings he has allowed 16 runs (14 earned) on 36 hits, walking 20, hitting two and striking out 30.
Combined with his time with Double-A Chattanooga, Williamson has a 6-5 record with a 4.1 ERA. He’s pitched 98.2 innings, allowing 47 runs (45 earned) on 97 hits, walking 60, hitting seven and striking out 104.
The Bats and Cubs will play in Des Moines through Sunday.
After an off day Monday, Louisville hosts the Omaha Storm Chasers (Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate) for six games starting Tuesday. Williamson is tentatively scheduled to pitch again on Wednesday.