Former USD baseball player Kris Bryant made his highly anticipated major league debut Friday afternoon, starting at third base for the Chicago Cubs against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field.
Bryant led all major leaguer’s with nine home runs during spring training and was rated as the No. 2 prospect in baseball by MLB.com.
The Cubs kept Bryant in the minor leagues for 12 days to begin the season in order to accrue another year of his service, according to Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining rules.
His debut was frivolous, though, as he went 0-5 with three strikeouts against Padres right hander James Shields.
The Padres would go on to win the game 5-4, thanks to a three-run homer from outfielder Wil Myers in the seventh inning, his first of the season.
Shields moved to 2-0 on the season after striking nine batters out over six innings with four runs, three earned, allowed.
Right hander Craig Kimbrel picked up his fourth save in as many opportunities, as he pitched a scoreless ninth with one strikeout.
Third baseman Will Middlebrooks added a homer as well, a two-run shot that tied the game up 2-2 in the fourth inning. It was Middlebrooks’ second round tripper of the season.
The Padres and Cubs will square off at 11:20 a.m. again on Saturday, where right hander Tyson Ross (1-0, 3.75) will face off against right hander Kyle Hendricks (0-0, 10.38 ERA) for the Cubs.
