Indiana Baseball: San Diego Padres' Kyle Hart wins first MLB game

Former Indiana baseball star pitcher Kyle Hart earned his first major league win last night in a 7-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians.

The San Diego Padres lefty pitcher pitched five innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts, in his first MLB appearance since 2020, the dreaded COVID-19 season.

The 32-year-old pitcher was stoked about his first career win at home in San Diego.

“I’ve waited a long time for that beer shower right there,”Hart said after the game “This would probably be better than anything I imagined, especially at Petco." “I mean, it’s been five years,” Hart said. “You hear guys, maybe it’s been two years, three years since they’ve been in the big leagues. But at five years, it’s almost like, ‘OK, those guys are gone.' I’ll give myself credit, I’ve worked really hard and had some success. But there were so many good people around me.”

Hart is one of the best pitchers in Indiana Hoosier baseball history. He was 31-12 during his five years at Indiana, with a 2.83 career ERA. He was part of the 2013 team that reached the College World Series featuring Hart, Aaron Slegers and Kyle Schwarber.

He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 19th round of the 2016 MLB Draft, appearing in 26 games — including 22 starts, where he was 6-7 with a 2.17 ERA in two seasons.

Hart also spent 2019-2021 in the minors across Double-A and Triple-A, in the Red Sox organization and was called up in 2020. He also had short stints in the minors with the Phillies and Mariners' organizations, but then in 2024 he decided to go play pro ball in Korea winning the Korean CY Young (Choi Dong-won Award) last season.

He signed with San Diego in the spring this past off-season, and earned a spot in the rotation.

Hart's next start will likely come against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday afternoon.