Never forget, Kyle Schwarber already has Gerrit Cole’s number

The Boston Red Sox acquired Kyle Schwarber at the trade deadline. It turns out, he has plenty of experience against Gerrit Cole.

Schwarber is leading off in the AL Wild Card game, facing a familiar foe in Cole. In the 2015 NL Wild Card game, Schwarber took Cole an estimate 450 feet, as the Chicago Cubs faced off against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Both organizations are in dire straits since then, with the Cubs trading away all of their stars at the deadline and the Pirates returning to one step below mediocrity.

But on Tuesday night, Cubs and Bucs fans will get to relive past glory, but not necessarily in a good way.

Red Sox: Kyle Schwarber is a great advantage to have

Schwarber’s red-hot streak with the Nationals hasn’t carried over to his time in Boston, but he’s still a formidable hitter who’s earned the right to lead off in a winner-take-all game at Fenway Park. Clearly, Alex Cora has faith in him.

The 2015 home run? It also just so happened to be Schwarber’s postseason debut. The rest of his resume is damn impressive.

He hit two home runs and hit .500 in the 2015 NLDS against the Cardinals, and then added two more blasts against the Mets, a series the Cubs would eventually lose.

The following season, Schwarber didn’t return from ACL injuries until the World Series, and still managed to hit .412 with a .500 OPS.

“I was spoiled when I was in Chicago, making five out of six, playing two wild card games, being able to win a World Series,” Schwarber said. “You know, I love the playoffs. This is something that I want to keep doing every year.”

Red Sox fans sure hope he can bring the same level of success to Boston.