To be fair, if there was only going to be one game to show the majority of Pirates fans what the potential impact Vince Velasquez could make in 2023, Saturday night was it.
The free agent pickup had eluded any sort of television broadcast up to what was his last spring training outing, and then he made it count.
Velasquez pitched five strong innings, allowing three hits, one run, and three walks, while striking out seven.
His fastball was lights out, generating eight swings and misses, while posting a 36% Called Strike Plus Whiff Rate (CSW%).