WASHINGTON — Jackson Kent allowed three runs in four-plus innings in his major-league debut Wednesday night for Washington against the Chicago Cubs after the Nationals selected the contract of the 23-year-old pitcher from Triple-A Rochester.
Kent, a Lake Park High School graduate from Hanover Park, struck out six while allowing three hits and walking five in a 78-pitch outing. The left-hander exited with two runners on and the game tied at 1 in the top of the fifth after Pete Crow-Armstrong hit an RBI double. Alex Bregman followed with a three-run home run off reliever Jake Bird.
The Nationals evened the score at 4 in the bottom half of the inning, letting Kent off the hook. Bregman added a pair of two-run home runs in the sixth and eighth innings to fuel the Cubs to a 12-6 victory.
“I really didn’t have my best stuff, I think probably had my C stuff,” Kent said. “So I really don’t need to change anything. It’s just getting better from here.”
Kent struck out Crow-Armstrong to lead off the game, then walked Seiya Suzuki and Bregman before striking out Carson Kelly and Michael Busch in a 23-pitch first inning. He struck out Crow-Armstrong again and then Suzuki in the third.
Kent’s first hit allowed was a Busch infield single leading off the fourth, but Nico Hoerner then hit into a double play, and Kent fanned Tyrone Taylor to end the inning.
Kent was 9-4 with a 3.72 ERA in 20 starts between Double-A Harrisburg and Rochester this season, with 105 strikeouts in 94 1/3 minor-league innings.
“There will be nerves,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said before the game. “There will be excitement, of course. There’s no way to hide that. I want him to go out there and make the most of it. You only get one debut and you’re lucky to have it because a lot of people want it. To be able to be in this spot and do it here at home, hopefully he soaks it up and is also he’s able to calm some of those nerves.”
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The Nationals designated right-hander Miles Mikolas for assignment to make room for Kent on the roster.
Kent, a left-hander who was a fourth-round draft pick in 2024 out of the University of Arizona, is the No. 8-ranked prospect in the Nationals organization, according to MLB.com, and could receive an extended look in the final seven weeks of the season. Butera said he thinks Kent has started to develop an identity of a pitcher who can consistently find the zone, amass strikeouts and offer a tough look for hitters.
“That’s not to say he’s going to come up here today and just have it figured out from the jump, but to be able to do what he did in the minor leagues at such a high level, Double A, Triple A, it’s not easy,” Butera said. “He’s earned the opportunity to be up here and make his debut.”
Mikolas, who signed a one-year, $2.25 million deal in February, was 3-9 with a 5.82 ERA. Often paired with an opener, the 37-year-old was the oldest player to appear for the Nationals this season and one of two older than 31. He reached 10 years of major-league service time last week.
It is the second time this month the Nationals cut ties with a veteran starter. They designated Zack Littell for assignment Aug. 5 and released him two days later. Littell signed Monday with the Arizona Diamondbacks.