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Jays make Feierabend 1st lefty knuckleballer to start game in 20 years

David Banks / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Blue Jays' current lack of pitching depth resulted in a little bit of history on Saturday.

After selecting the contract of Ryan Feierabend, the 33-year-old took the mound for Toronto against the Chicago White Sox and became the first left-handed knuckleball pitcher to start a game since Kirt Ojala did so for the Marlins on April 18, 1999.

It didn't start all that well for him or for Statcast. He allowed a home run to Leury Garcia, the first batter he faced, and Statcast registered eight pitches as sliders running from 74 to 79 MPH with no spin, according to ESPN's Brandon Doolittle. These were likely his knuckleballs.

Originally a third-round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners in the 2003 draft, Feierabend appeared in parts of three seasons with the team from 2006-08 and resurfaced with the Texas Rangers in 2014. Altogether, he's 2-11 with a 7.22 ERA in 113 1/3 major-league innings.

Since then, he's spent four seasons playing in the Korean Baseball Organization, going 41-49 with a 4.21 ERA in 793 1/3 innings.

He's the first knuckleballer to take the mound for the Blue Jays since R.A. Dickey was a regular member of the rotation from 2013-16.

As a corresponding move, reliever Javy Guerra was designated for assignment.

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