Since I showed the Dodgers' record against opponents making their first major league start the other day, it's only fair that I show what Dodger pitchers have actually done in the same circumstance. After all, James McDonald is making his first MLB start this evening in Arizona. Here's a look at the last few Dodger starting debuts:
| Pitcher | Year | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | Result |
| Clayton Kershaw | 2008 | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | W, 4-3 |
| Hiroki Kuroda | 2008 | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | W, 7-1 |
| Eric Stults | 2006 | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | W, 9-1 |
| Hong-Chih Kuo | 2006 | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | W, 5-0 |
| Chad Billingsley | 2006 | 5.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | W, 7-3 |
| D.J. Houlton | 2005 | 5.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | W, 2-1 |
| Derek Thompson | 2005 | 5.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | L, 4-5 |
| Edwin Jackson | 2003 | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | W, 4-1 |
| Victor Alvarez | 2002 | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | L, 0-2 |
| Kazuhisa Ishii | 2002 | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | W, 9-4 |
| Luke Prokopec | 2000 | 4.1 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | L, 4-5 |
| Jeff Williams | 1999 | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | W, 9-4 |
| Eric Gagne | 1999 | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | L, 1-2 |
| Mike Judd | 1999 | 6.1 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | W, 10-5 |
| Jamie Arnold | 1999 | 6.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | W, 8-2 |
| Totals | 87.2 | 53 | 21 | 17 | 25 | 66 | 11-4, 1.75 ERA | |
That really is a remarkable run of debuts. There might not be an Astacio in the bunch, but there are some memorable games on there. Who can forget Edwin Jackson on his 20th birthday besting The Big Unit, a man almost exactly twice his age? I still remember watching Gagne's debut in Florida, thinking he would be something special. I was right, but not how I intended.
The last pitcher in his starting debut to give up more than two earned runs was Mike Judd ten years ago. Luke Prokopec really had the only other bad start in the bunch, and three of his four runs allowed were unearned. The last truly bad start by a Dodger making his first start was Rick Gorecki, who gave up nine runs in two and a third innings on the last day of the season in 1997. It's not a bad run when you have to go back a dozen years to find a bad start.
Will James McDonald follow suit, and pitch a good game tonight in Arizona? We'll soon find out.