Los Angeles Dodgers southpaw Justin Wrobleski pitched two innings in the All-Star game, raising some eyebrows with his performance.

Wrobleski had five strikeouts, but he made one mistake, leading to his only run allowed, which came on a home run to former Dodgers Miguel Vargas.

However, his five punch-outs were good for the most since 1999, when Pedro Martinez got six of his own.

The record, since there are so many pitchers that need a turn, is six, but Wrobleski fell just short. He also tied for the most among Dodgers pitchers at the ASG, alongside two legends, Fernando Valenzuela (1986) and Don Drysdale (1959).

Wrobleski was notably down since he gave up a home run, understandably so since he is a hyper-competitive pitcher, but he did not fail to take it all in, making an unlikely All-Star appearance on his birthday.

“I’m super blessed and lucky to have the chance to do this,” Wrobleski said. “There’s not many guys in history that have had that chance. So pretty cool to play on my birthday. My family’s here. Got to talk to them all day. And yeah, it was super fun.”

Justin Wrobleski’s underdog story

Wrobleski was a journeyman college pitcher, playing at three different schools and undergoing Tommy John surgery months before getting drafted, which dinged him in the pre-draft evaluation.

Additionally, in 2021, he went through a car accident so tragic that it nearly ended his baseball career.

Despite it all, Wrobleski never lost faith.

“For whatever reason, I’ve always believed I could do it,” Wrobleski said.

“Even when it doesn’t look like it’s been something that’s possible, or hasn’t looked like this dream is going to work out, I’ve always had the belief that God’s given me the talent, and I have the ability to be able to do all this stuff. And it’s great to –– not fulfill that –– but prove that I can be really good at the major league level.”

Now, Wrobleski is out to prove himself again and again, showing that a high command pitcher without blowout stuff can still be good in the modern MLB.