Mervis makes memorable debut in win over Marlins

Kamil Krzaczynski - USA Today Sports

by Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - Fri May 05 17:20:10 GMT-04:00 2023

CHICAGO - May 5, 2023, will forever be known as Matt Mervis Day in Chicago as the No. 6 prospect made his Chicago Cubs (16-16) debut against the Miami Marlins (16-17) in front of a packed Wrigley Field. After tearing things up in the minors the past two seasons, this move was expected, although some felt Mervis should have been called up sooner than he was.

Expected to go through some growing pains like all rookies do, Mervis looked very comfortable at the plate and in the field but was still sitting 0-3 with two strikeouts through three at-bats. Then came his final at-bat of the game in the eighth inning, one he will never forget as he smoked an RBI single up the middle for his first career MLB Hit and RBI. Pair that with another impressive Justin Steele start, and the Cubs took care of Miami 4-1 for their first win against the Marlins this season.

Anytime Steele takes the mound, it is starting to become must-watch television as he has been the best pitcher on the planet since last July. His ERA since the all-star break is 1.23, and entering Friday, was a 1.47 ERA for the season. How he didn't win the NL Pitcher of the Month for April is beyond me, but the left-hander didn't let that bother him as he went out and took care of business.

What is starting to become a broken record, Steele continues to impress on the mound as he gave the Cubs seven impressive innings of one-run four-strikeout ball. He needed only 86 pitches to get through those seven innings and is now 5-0 with a 1.45 ERA for the year. Opposing Steele was the hard-throwing Edward Cabrerra, whom the Cubs faced last weekend.

Despite excellent stuff, Cabrerra has had issues with walks and walked five Cubs last time out. He struck out 12 in that game but was chased after five innings due to a high pitch count. Expecting that to be the case again, the Cubs came out extremely aggressive, with Nico Hoerner ripping a leadoff single to get things started in the first. Hoerner then wreaked havoc on the bases forcing a balk from Cabrerra to get to second and advancing to third on a passed ball.

Looking to end their runners-in-scoring position woes, Seiya Suzuki came through as his two-out single to the left gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead.

Seiya gets us started!@suzuki_seiya_sb pic.twitter.com/ghKiMmkvvT
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 5, 2023

Given how good Steele has pitched this season, one run looked very good as he retired the first eight hitters he faced while picking up four strikeouts in three innings. Those would be his only strikeouts, but no more were needed.

With the Cubs making Cabrerra work, the Marlins needed to get to Steele, and it looked like they would in the fourth. Luis Arraez continued his major league-leading batting average by picking up three more hits, including a one-out single in the fourth. That single was followed by the 2021 AL Batting Champ Yuli Gurriel, picking up a single, putting two on with one out.

Following a fielder's choice to erase Arraez at third, Jazz Chisholm ripped one into the left field corner, but it was Ian Happ making the great play to keep the Marlins off the board. The defense from the Cubs continued to set the tone in the fifth, with Bryan De La Cruz picking up a leadoff single before he was erased on an incredible leaping catch turned double play by Hoerner to end the fifth.

Daily Double pic.twitter.com/tULcOhBt6P
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 5, 2023

With their offense going quiet after the first inning, Dansby Swanson looked to jump-start it with a two-out single to left. That single was followed by the big blow of the game as Happ sat on the Cabrerra off-speed pitch and put it into the seats for the two-run shot and a 3-0 Cubs lead.

.@ihapp_1 visits the bleachers! pic.twitter.com/zjqr2ElcCp
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 5, 2023

Cruising through five, the Marlins finally got to Steele in the sixth, with Jon Berti leading things off with a single. He is the last man you want on the bases and went first to third on another Arraez single to set things up for the Marlins and their offense. A few pitches later saw Gurriel loft one to left for the sacrifice fly as the Marlins broke through to make things 3-1. That was their only run of the game as Steele retired the final four hitters he faced to get through seven strong innings.

One of the biggest weaknesses for the Cubs, especially on their last road trip, was the bullpen, as the back end of it continues to be a work in progress. With David Ross continuing to tinker with the roles, Michael Fulmer was called on to pitch the eighth and needed just seven pitches to get through the Marlins half of the frame. Knowing their late-game struggles, the Cubs hoped to get some insurance runs late as Tanner Scott took over in the eighth.

After retiring the first two hitters he faced, Cody Bellinger extended the inning with a double before Scott walked Trey Mancini to go lefty vs. lefty with Mervis.

Looking for his first MLB hit, Mervis delivered as he took the Scott slider and smoked it up the middle to push the Cubs lead to 4-1.

First major league hit ✅
First major league RBI ✅

Welcome to The Show, @mmervis12! pic.twitter.com/qu2VbC6QNa
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 5, 2023

Mervis was appreciated the standing ovation he got during the game, especially during his first at-bat.

"That was really cool," Mervis told the media. "Obviously, the biggest crowd I've ever played in front of, and for people to cheer for me like that was nothing I've experienced before. It was a lot of fun."

As bad as the Cubs have been in close games, they did enter the game 15-1 when leading in the ninth inning. Looking to make it 16-1, Mark Leiter Jr was called on to convert the save and did his job as the Cubs moved back to .500 with a 4.-1 win. Leiter's impressive season continues, as this was his first save of the year, and many more could be on the way.

The Cubs had eight hits in the ball game, with Hoerner leading the way with two. Comparing his numbers to Arraez, take away the batting average, and Hoerner is right up there with Arraez among the NL leaders in many categories. Not only was this Mervis' debut, but it was the home debut of Miguel Amaya, who is still looking for his first hit. Amaya put two balls in play today, one being a narrowly missed homer and the other a rocket down the third base line that was caught.

On a side note, many transactions and moves were made before this game to excite Cubs fans. With Mervis coming up, someone had to go down as Edwin Rios was optioned to AAA Iowa. Yan Gomes has also started to do some light conditioning work, but the pitching side drew the most attention.

Codi Heuer is continuing his way back from Tommy John and is expected to pitch this weekend for Iowa. Brandon Hughes was seen playing catch on the diamond today with Kyle Hendricks set to throw a bullpen session Saturday in Chicago. The Cubs also added Adrian Sampson to the major league roster before placing him on the IL as a possible move could be coming.