Finally, it appears that the Chicago Cubs are willing to show some backbone in the dugout after the promotion of Class AA shortstop Starlin Castro to the Major League roster. Castro made his highly anticipated MLB debut on Friday—after a series sweep by the Pirates left the rotation gasping for run support.
For the first time in four years, Ryan Theriot was moved over to second base to supplement the promotion of Castro.
In his first at bat as a major leaguer, Castro hit a three-run home run in the away half of the second inning and finished the game two hits and six RBI—moreover allowing the Cubs to end a three-game skid with a 14-7 win over the Reds.
Just when the night seemed like it couldn’t get any better, it was announced that Castro was the first ever rookie to debut with six RBI in Major League history.
The only response from skipper Lou Piniella was: “What a debut!”
Other offense for the Cubs came by way of another three-run home run by outfielder Marlon Byrd and a grand slam by Mike Fontenot in the eighth.
Due to this marvelous offensive support, Carlos Silva received his third win of the season (3-0) after giving up four runs on 10 hits and four errors in just five innings.
All we can here echoing from former ace Carlos Zambrano in the bullpen is: “Where was that when I was still in the rotation?” And then proceeding to destroy a perfectly good beverage container with the world’s best maple.
Questions surrounding the middle infield in Chicago have been numerous of late—shortstop Theriot and Fontenot both had relatively slow starts to the season—and after Castro’s performance, the conversations are only going to get more interesting.
Theriot, who has rebounded from a horrible start to lead the club in hitting with 43 hits and a .333 average, will continue to lead off for the Cubs, but will most likely remain at second, after chemistry could be seen after only one game with the Dominican national, Castro.
Castro and Theriot linked up on their first double play of many on the year in the bottom of the fourth inning, by way of a 6-4-3.
Most likely, Castro will remain with the big league club and continue to play short stop at least five days a week for the Cubs according to ESPN: Chicago writer Bruce Levine.
If this sporadic amount of success continues for Chicago’s offense, fans may once again regain hope, with the wild card race still in tact with a 14-16 record—four games behind National League-leading San Fransisco.
The Cubs will look to continue their offensive triumphs when they match up once again against the Reds on Saturday. Castro may break out once again when he faces right hander Aaron Harang, who currently boasts a 6.68 ERA.
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