Michael O?Connor, 25, a graduate of Mt. St. Joseph?s from Ellicott City in Howard County, is slated to be the starting pitcher for the Washington Nationals on Thursday in St. Louis, according to Nationals? scout Mike Toomey.
“It caught me off guard. You have to be at the right place at the right time,” O?Connor said Wednesday from Memphis, on the way to St. Louis.
O?Connor, who will make his Major League debut, had never pitched above Class A ball before this season. He began this season with Class AAA New Orleans. O?Connor is a former standout at George Washington University.
“I feel great for him,” Toomey, a Montgomery County resident, said of O?Connor. O?Connor made four starts this season for New Orleans and was 0-0 with an ERA of 2.41. He will pitch Thursday on three days rest.
