Nick Tepesch's sterling pitching debut makes Texas Rangers look smart

Shaving cream is a good thing in baseball. It signifies celebration. Not a World Series, mind you. But it’s the universal symbol in the game for personal accomplishment and public embarrassment.

Elvis Andrus made sure rookie pitcher Nick Tepesch received the shaving cream pie treatment after his gem of an outing against the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday night. Tepesch went straight from an interview with Fox Sports Southwest’s Emily Jones to hugs from his parents and didn’t bother wiping it off.

If Tepesch was nervous, it didn’t show. Not in a second inning in which he loaded the bases and then struck out Kelly Johnson to get out of the jam. Not in a third inning in which he gave up a leadoff double to Desmond Jennings and held the Rays to a run — their only run in a 6-1 Rangers win.

“He has a tremendous makeup,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said afterward. “He trusts his stuff. He knows what he can do. He’s never outside of himself. Those are the traits we saw in spring training.”

Even as he lined up to congratulate his teammates in the post-game handshake line, he didn’t smile much. Bewildered? Maybe. But it seems more likely that Tepesch, whom even the most educated Rangers fan might have had trouble recognizing a month ago, might just be that unflappable.

Those are the traits — along with a mean breaking ball and a trap-door slider — that launched Tepesch from little-known prospect to No. 5 starter on opening day. The Rangers felt he could pitch well enough to hold down the fort for the injured Colby Lewis and Martin Perez. Tepesch’s spring also left the Rangers believing they didn’t need to chase free agent Kyle Lohse.

It’s only one game, mind you, but Tepesch validated that faith with a sterling performance of seven-plus innings, three walks, five strikeouts and one run allowed.

A good omen
But here’s the piece that piques your interest if you’ve watched the Rangers for any length of time in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington: Tepesch recorded 14 groundouts.

That’s significant if it’s the way he normally pitches, because baseballs seem to jump out of this park like the fireworks that celebrate Rangers home runs. Keeping pitches down in the strike zone and inducing ground ball outs is key to success in Arlington.

Aside from the second and third innings, Tepesch worked low pitch counts, stayed ahead of hitters and kept out of trouble. In some cases, that’s more than you can ask for from a veteran No. 5 starter, much less a rookie who hadn’t pitched above Double A before a minor league prep start last weekend.

“He showed maturity for a young guy,” Washington said. “He has awareness. He has pitchability. He kept trusting [catcher] A.J. [Pierzynski] and executing pitches.”

The collective wisdom is that Tepesch is nothing more than a seat warmer for either Lewis or Perez once they’re healthy. Even after Tepesch’s sterling debut that may still be the case. As good as Tepesch was against the Rays, it’s just one start. The last Rangers starter to go at least seven innings in his MLB debut was Brian Sikorski in 2000.

Who? Yeah, exactly. I’ve followed the Rangers my entire life, and I barely remember him.

For every Roy Halladay, there are 12 Brian Sikorskis, players who get their cup of coffee in the bigs and are never heard from again.

But Tepesch lived out the dream on Tuesday night. He won his Major League debut in front of his parents and received a well-deserved standing ovation from more than 31,000 fans as he left the game in the eighth.

For one night, at least, Tepesch pitched like he belonged.