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.”
-
Adam Rittenberg
Quarterback Brendan Sullivan, who started games midway through the 2024 season for Iowa, entered the transfer portal Friday.
In a social media post, Sullivan said he “loved and enjoyed every second” he spent with the Hawkeyes but opted to enter the portal in his “best interest.”
— Brendan Sullivan (@bsully02) April 12, 2025
Sullivan, who transferred to Iowa from Northwestern last spring, took over for Cade McNamara midway through a game against his former team and then started the next two games against Wisconsin and UCLA. After missing two games with an ankle injury, he returned to start the Hawkeyes’ 27-24 loss to Missouri in the Music City Bowl.
In January, Iowa added quarterback transfer Mark Gronowski, who won 49 games and an FCS national title at South Dakota State. Gronowski underwent offseason shoulder surgery and has not participated in the Hawkeyes’ spring practices. He told reporters Thursday that he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery and has started to throw passes with the goal of being 100% by June 1.
Iowa also added Hank Brown, a transfer from Auburn who made two starts in 2024.
A native of Davison, Michigan, Sullivan completed 38 of 53 passes for 475 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions, while adding 150 rushing yards and four touchdowns for the Hawkeyes. He started games for Northwestern in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, recording 10 touchdowns and five interceptions, but transferred after falling behind Jack Lausch on the spring depth chart.
Sullivan redshirted in 2021 and has one year of eligibility left.
“Someone is gonna get a great dude and a hell of a competitor in Sully!” Iowa general manager Tyler Barnes posted on X.
-
Andrea Adelson
Pro Football Hall of Famer and Syracuse alum Dwight Freeney has joined the Orange staff in player development, the school announced Friday.
Freeney played defensive end at Syracuse from 1998 to 2001, totaling 34 sacks before becoming a first-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2002. He spent 16 seasons in the NFL, becoming one of the greatest pass rushers of all time.
In 2024, Freeney was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He had his No. 54 jersey retired at Syracuse later that same year.
“The time is now,” Freeney said in a statement. “I think that Syracuse has a lot of good things going. A great foundation and I think they need a push to be able to maintain and exceed that — that is what I hope I’m able to do. My schedule is now a lot freer than it has been in years past, so I’ll be able to help however is needed and in whatever way I can.”
Syracuse went 10-3 last year in the first season under coach Fran Brown.
-
Sports2 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
-
Sports1 year 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
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway