Italian rookie Sam Aldegheri won for the first time in the major leagues, allowing a run on three hits in six innings in the Los Angeles Angels' 5-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.
Aldegheri (1-1), the first major league pitcher born and raised in Italy, struck out seven and walked three in his second career start. Last Friday night, the 22-year-old left-hander gave up seven runs - two earned - in five innings in a 9-5 loss to Seattle.
Aldegheri, whose first exposure to the major leagues was watching videos of Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw on YouTube and streaming on Italian TV, said he has dreamed of this first win "a lot."
"For sure it was something that I was looking to accomplish today, and I did it," said Aldegheri, who began the season in Single-A ball in the Philadelphia organization, was acquired at the trade deadline and brought up from Double-A last Friday. "So, it feels really great."
Aldegheri became the third Italian-born pitcher to win a major league game, the first since Marino Pieretti of the Chicago White Sox in 1949.
