Mervis singles, lifts struggling Cubs in debut
-
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
CHICAGO — Matt Mervis‘ climb to the big leagues was both meandering and steep. When debut day finally arrived on a lustrous Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field, the pinnacle moment almost didn’t happen.
“I was hoping for the fourth at-bat,” Mervis said after his eighth-inning single drove in an insurance run in the Cubs’ 4-1 win over the Marlins at the Friendly Confines.
Mervis joined the club from Triple-A Iowa on Friday upon the Cubs’ returning from a tough road trip through Miami and Washington on which they lost six of seven, with five of the losses coming by a single run.
“It sucks hard,” was how Cubs manager David Ross described the spate of narrow defeats. Still, the mood was lightened by the arrival of Mervis, who was hitting .286/.402/.560 at Triple-A Iowa with six homers and 27 RBIs in 24 games.
That’s what happens with any touted new arrival: a resurgence of hope. Perhaps echoing that notion was the weather itself, warm and flawless on a sunny afternoon on the north side of Chicago.
“They just said, ‘Pack stuff and get to the stadium, and congratulations,'” Mervis said, describing the call he received from the Cubs telling him he was hitting the big-time. He added, “This is all I’ve wanted to do for pretty much my whole life.”
While Mervis’ Triple-A numbers suggested an eventual promotion was inevitable, it wasn’t long ago that it seemed inconceivable. After a four-year career at Duke in which Mervis was as coveted for his pitching arm as his bat, he went undrafted in the 2020 draft, which was truncated to five rounds because of the pandemic.
Mervis signed with the Cubs as a free agent. While he heard many times that he should focus on pitching, he always thought his future would be forged with his still-developing ability with the bat. His insistence on that belief was a big step that led to Friday’s game.
Still, things moved slowly. Mervis hit just .209 during his first season of professional games in 2021 but then leaped to .309 across three levels in 2022 while mashing 36 homers. In fact, that became his nickname: Mash.
“My parents like it,” Mervis said. “We all have T-shirts and my friends jokingly call me that sometimes. It is strange to be a minor leaguer with a nickname, but I don’t mind.”
With the Cubs floundering a bit on offense during the rough road trip, and the Mervis mash in effect at Iowa, the time for his long-awaited call arrived. His parents, who had been en route to watch him play in the minors, had to reroute to Chicago, all while dealing with the emotions of their son realizing his dream.
After meeting with the media and studying the labyrinthine passageways beneath 109-year-old Wrigley Field before the game, Mervis took the field with his teammates, and before he knew it, he was striding to the plate for his first MLB at-bat against Marlins righty Edward Cabrera in the second inning.
The crowd, all too familiar with Mervis’ prospect profile, gave him a rousing, prolonged welcome as he stepped to the plate.
“That was really cool,” Mervis said. “Obviously the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of, and for people to cheer for me like that was something I’ve never experienced before.”
Also: Mervis had never faced a big league pitcher in a big league game before, and Cabrera greeted him with a nasty changeup at the knees — at 92.4 mph. He ended up striking out in that first at-bat. He grounded out in the fourth and struck out again in the sixth.
Hey, the big leagues are tough. Meanwhile, the well-pitched game zipped along, and with the Cubs leading 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Mervis was due to be the fifth batter up in the inning.
The first two hitters went down quickly, but Cody Bellinger blooped a double after Marlins right fielder Garrett Hampson fell down. With tough lefty Tanner Scott on the mound, Miami walked righty Trey Mancini intentionally to bring the lefty-swinging Mervis to the plate for another shot at his first hit.
Mervis didn’t waste that fourth at-bat. Instead he very much lived up to his name — he mashed. Mervis’ line shot to right rocketed off the bat at 111 mph and plated Bellinger to give the Cubs an insurance run in the tense contest.
“That was fun,” Mervis said. “I was trying not to overthink it.”
The response was typical on a day that Mervis seemed to handle with the ease of a veteran, even with so much going on and his parents watching from the stands.
“I liked the way he handled the moments,” Ross said. “Didn’t get outside of himself and took some good swings on some nasty pitches.”
With his first game, first hit and first RBI all under his belt, and the ball with which he collected his first big league knock secured, the only question remaining for Mervis was what he would do with the memento.
“It’s going to my dad,” Mervis said. “He was wearing my Fall League jersey today. He gets the bats and gloves and all that stuff. I know he presents that stuff proudly in his office.”
-
Max Olson
FRISCO, Texas — A dynamic new quarterback, a new offensive system and two projected first-round picks up front have Utah coach Kyle Whittingham feeling enthusiastic about the Utes’ chances of bouncing back from a disastrous debut season in the Big 12.
Utah was voted No. 1 in the Big 12 preseason poll last year after joining from the Pac-12, but a brutal run of injuries and inconsistency resulted in a seven-game conference losing streak and a 5-7 finish — the program’s first losing season since 2013.
After weeks of contemplation about his future and what was best for the program, Whittingham, the third-longest-tenured head coach in FBS, decided in December to return for his 21st season with the Utes.
“The bottom line and the final analysis was I couldn’t step away on that note,” Whittingham told ESPN at Big 12 media days Wednesday. “It was too frustrating, too disappointing. As much as college football has changed with all the other factors that might pull you away, that was the overriding reason: That’s not us, that’s not who we are. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not want to miss the opportunity to try to get that taste out.”
“The bottom line and the final analysis was I couldn’t step away on that note. It was too frustrating, too disappointing. … That’s not us. That’s not who we are. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not want to miss the opportunity to try to get that taste out.”
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham on going 5-7 in 2024
Whittingham and Utes defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley conducted a national search for a new offensive coordinator and quickly zeroed in on New Mexico‘s Jason Beck. Then they managed to land Devon Dampier, Beck’s first-team All-Mountain West quarterback, via the transfer portal.
After finishing 11th nationally in total offense with 3,934 yards and 31 total touchdowns and putting up the fourth-most rushing yards (1,166) among all FBS starters, Dampier followed his coach to Salt Lake City and immediately asserted himself as a difference-maker for a program that had to start four different QBs in 2024.
“He’s a terrific athlete,” Whittingham said. “He’s a guy that, if spring is any indication, he’s an exciting player, and we can’t wait to watch him this season. … He’s got that ‘it’ factor. He’s a leader. Needless to say, very excited to see what he does for us.”
They’ve surrounded Dampier with 21 more newcomers via the transfer portal and will protect him with two returning starters at tackle in Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, who are projected first-round NFL draft picks by ESPN’s Matt Miller.
“We feel they’re the best tandem in the country,” Whittingham said. “The offensive line in general, I feel, it’s the best since I’ve been there. And that’s quite a statement. We’ve had some really good offensive lines. We’ve got two first-rounders and three seniors inside that have played a lot of good football for us. That better be a strength of ours, and that’s what we’re counting on.”
Whittingham has previously said he did not want to coach past the age of 65. Now that he’s 65, he acknowledges that he might’ve arrived at a different decision about his future had the Utes ended up winning the Big 12 in 2024. He is reenergized about getting them back into contention, but he’s not ready to say whether this season might be his last.
“The best answer I can give you is, right now, I’m excited and passionate about going to work every single day,” Whittingham said. “As soon as that changes, I’ll know it’s time. I’m just counting on knowing when the time is right. I can’t tell you exactly what the circumstances will be other than losing the fire in the belly.”
-
Jesse Rogers
The automated ball-strike system is coming to the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.
MLB officials added the feature to the annual exhibition game knowing it could be a precursor to becoming a permanent part of the major leagues as soon as next year.
The same process used this past spring training will be used for the Midsummer Classic: Each team will be given two challenges with the ability to retain them if successful. Only a pitcher, catcher or hitter can ask for a challenge and it has to happen almost immediately after the pitch. The player will tap his hat or helmet indicating to the umpire he wants to challenge while any help from the dugout or other players on the field is not allowed.
MLB officials say 72% of fans who were polled during spring training said the impact of ABS on their experience at the game was a “positive” one. Sixty-nine percent said they’d like it part of the game moving forward. Just 10% expressed negativity toward it.
MLB’s competition committee will meet later this summer to determine if ABS will be instituted next season after the league tested the robotic system throughout the minor leagues and spring training in recent years. Like almost any rule change, there were mixed reviews from players about using ABS but nearly all parties agree on one point: They prefer a challenge system as opposed to the technology calling every pitch.
As was the case in spring training, once a review is initiated, an animated replay of the pitch will be shown on the scoreboard and the home plate umpire will either uphold the call or overturn it. ABS uses Hawk-Eye system technology which tracks the pitch trajectory and location in relation to the strike zone, providing an instant assessment which can be relayed to the home plate umpire.
The All-Star Game will be played at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tuesday.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike