ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – It was the sixth pitch to the game’s leadoff hitter. A 95-mph heater on the inner half of the plate. Typically, that would be grounds for disaster against Shohei Ohtani. Instead, Brad Lord collected the first strikeout of his major league career.
“It was a 3-2 count and I was like, I’m not walking him,” the Nationals righthander recalled. “Either he’s going to put it in play, make an out, swing and miss. Whatever happens happens, but I’m not walking him. Luckily, I ended up striking him out.”
Lord got the swing and miss, and it never gets old chatting about fanning Ohtani for his first MLB strikeout. It was a milestone that took place during his first career start (fourth appearance) the evening of April 8, 2025 at Nationals Park against the Dodgers. Ohtani was also Lord’s third strikeout two innings later.
“It’s a pretty common question that everybody likes to ask,” he said Friday afternoon before Washington opened a three-game series against the Rays at Tropicana Field. “I don’t mind talking about it. It’s kind of fun.”
It surely was fun for many family members and friends to see Lord pitch at the Trop on Saturday. He struck out five in three shutout innings in Washington’s 4-3 victory. His time at USF was pretty good, too. It was only three years before fanning Ohtani that Lord finished his collegiate career with the Bulls after piling up 123 strikeouts in as many innings during his two seasons (2021-22) under Billy Mohl.
The native of Crawfordville, about 20 miles south of Tallahassee, began his career at Gulf Coast (Miss.) College in 2019 and returned to the Sunshine State to play at Sante Fe College in Gainesville during the pandemic-shortened 2020.
“I really wanted to stay in Florida, and when USF called, I was beyond happy to go there,” he said. “I knew they had a good program and I heard a lot of good things about the coaches, so I was very excited to go there.”
Among the highlights of Lord’s time with the Bulls was throwing six scoreless innings in an elimination game against Tulane in the 2021 American Conference tournament, which the Bulls won for an automatic berth in the NCAA tourney. He then sparkled in relief against Texas (3 SO, 1 1/3 IP) in the Super Regional in Austin. A year later, he completed his time at USF and earned a criminology degree.
“If baseball didn’t work out and I didn’t get signed by a professional team, I was most likely going into law enforcement,” said the Nats’ 18th-round selection in 2022. “I was looking forward to that, too.”
He would have followed in his father’s footsteps. Joey Lord, who is among family members at the Trop this Father’s Day weekend, was a federal wildlife officer in the Panhandle. Baseball, however, has worked out pretty well for Lord, who is operating exclusively out of the bullpen this season after serving as a swingman last year.
“Things are kind of clicking for the starting pitchers, and I’m very happy with my role,” said the 26-year-old, who says adding a sweeper has aided in compiling impressive numbers that include a 5-0 mark, 2.29 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. “I’ll take any innings I can get and in whatever role I can to help the team win. That’s what I’m here for, and I am making it work.”
He was at USF to make it work on and off the field, which is exactly what he did.
“I accomplished everything I wanted to do,” he said. “It was a great two years.”
READ: Strike Zone For Faith? Florida Subpoenas MLB Over Alleged Religious Discrimination
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