In his debut, Kent pitched four innings and allowed three runs on three hits while striking out six. He did not factor into the decision. Kent struck out three batters in his first inning of work in front of 40-plus family members in attendance.
Across two year in the Nationals minor league system, Kent posted impressive numbers to earn his call-up — in 44 games (all starts) the southpaw posted a 4.22 ERA, surrendered just 188 hits, and struck out 237 while issuing just 68 walks.
Prior to his MLB debut, Kent made 13 starts for Triple-A Rochester and went 8-3 with 67 strikeouts in 63.2 innings of work.