MLB Rumors: Pete Alonso trade imminent, Skenes stumble, Cubs historic debut
- Paul Skenes' first Double-A star was a disaster
- Cubs top prospect had a historic debut
- Pete Alonso is almost definitely getting traded from the Mets
By Scott Rogust
MLB Rumors: Cubs prospect's historic major league debut
The Chicago Cubs are fighting for a spot in the postseason. While they are four games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the NL Central, they hold the second NL Wild Card spot by half a game entering Sunday. They have this spot despite dealing with starting rotation issues. This weekend, the team called for reinforcements.
On Saturday, the Cubs called up No. 10 prospect Jordan Wicks to make the start against the Pittsburgh Pirates. let's just say that the Cubs have a lot to be excited about.
To start the game, Wicks surrendered a leadoff home run to Ke'Bryan Hayes to put the Cubs in a 1-0 deficit. Then, he surrendered a single to Bryan Reynolds and walked Andrew McCutchen. From there, Wicks would ease into things, striking out Connor Joe, Endy Rodriguez, and Joshua Palacios in succession to strike out the side.
Those first three baserunners would be the last that Wicks allowed for the rest of the game. According to OptaSTATS, Wicks is the first pitcher to allow the first three batters of the game to reach base, but not allow another baserunner for the rest of the game and earn the win since Luis Tiant did so back in 1974 for the Boston Red Sox.
Jordan Wicks of the @Cubs is the first MLB starting pitcher to allow the first 3 batters of a game to reach base but then not allow another baserunner after that and earn the win since Boston's Luis Tiant did so at Tiger Stadium on September 28, 1974. pic.twitter.com/5jSMQARYYs
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 27, 2023
Wicks pitched five full innings for Chicago, where he struck out nine batters and issued just one walk. The homer to Hayes and the single by Reynolds in the first inning were the only hits Wicks would allow for the entire game.
Quite the way for the left-handed pitcher to make his debut. He certainly did his own to make sure that the Cubs would not fall out of a Wild Card spot.