Called up from the Triple-A Salt Lake City Bees to make his first Major League start for the Los Angeles Angels, pitcher Davis Daniel had a restless night on Wednesday.

“I told my wife this morning I didn’t sleep great. It felt like Christmas morning,” Daniel said. “Once I got to the park, I felt like I calmed down and everything felt good.”

Not just good, but historically good.

The former Auburn pitcher worked the first eight innings of Los Angeles’ 5-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers in an American League game on Thursday night at Angel Park in Anaheim, California. Davis recorded eight strikeouts and blanked the Tigers on four hits without walking a batter.

In the modern history (since 1901) of the American and National leagues, Davis turned in the 498th game in which a starting pitcher worked at least eight shutout innings without walking a batter while striking out at least eight and yielding four or fewer hits.

But Davis was the first of those pitchers to do so in his first Major League start.

“It was a historic night for Daniel,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “He was 21-in-26 first-pitch strikes. He changed speeds. He moved the ball around. He told me after the eighth he had more left, but he might’ve needed to get to 115 pitches, and I wanted him to feel good about what he did.”

The game wasn’t Daniel’s Major League debut. He made three relief appearances for Los Angeles last season.

“It was incredible,” Daniel said. “It was a lot of fun. I felt like me and (catcher Logan O’Hoppe) were on the same page from the first inning. The offense hit a couple of big homers to help propel us and some good defense behind me, and I just felt like everything was rolling.”

Daniel became the first pitcher to work at least eight shutout innings in his first MLB start and:

· Strike out at least eight since Jason Jennings struck out eight in nine innings in the Colorado Rockies’ 10-0 victory over the New York Mets on Aug. 23, 2001. Daniel became the 21st pitcher in the modern history of the American and National leagues with at least eight shutout innings and eight strikeouts in his first start.

· Yield four or fewer hits since Tyler Gilbert pitched a no-hitter in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 7-0 victory over the San Diego Padres on Aug. 14, 2021. Daniel became the 100th pitcher in the modern history of the American and National leagues with at least eight shutout innings while yielding four or fewer hits in his first start.

· Not walk a batter since Scott Lewis in the Cleveland Indians’ 7-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 10, 2008. Daniel became the 17th pitcher in the modern history of the American and National leagues with at least eight shutout innings and no walks in his first start.

The Angels called up Daniel as left-hander Patrick Sandoval underwent elbow surgery on Wednesday. Sandoval had a 2-8 record in 16 starts for Los Angeles this season.

“We haven’t talked about it yet,” Washington said about keeping Daniel in the rotation. “But I think if you throw eight shutout innings, if there’s an opportunity, you’re going to get it.”

A prep standout at St. James in Montgomery, Daniel pitched in three seasons at Auburn and left the Tigers as a seventh-round draft pick of the Angels in 2019.

In 37 games with Auburn, Daniel had a 7-7 record with a 5.76 earned-run average with 135 strikeouts in 139 innings.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.