For Edward Cabrera, his debut with the Chicago Cubs couldn’t have gone much better than it did. He conceded just two baserunners in six scoreless innings of work and added five strikeouts.
His performance helped the Cubs beat the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night. While it was Chicago’s first chance to see him pitch, it was also Cabrera’s first experience pitching at Wrigley wearing the home colors. After soaking it all in and reflecting on his first start with the team, Cabrera highlighted a major difference between his outings in Miami and his debut in Chicago.
“The emotions are definitely different,” Cabrera told Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. “Because, let’s be real, it’s a big difference in the number of fans we had in Miami. But I try not to focus too much on that.”
Cabrera wasn’t trying to speak badly about the Marlins, and what he said is simply a fact. The Cubs had more people at his debut (36,072 people) than Cabrera possibly saw in an entire series at home in Miami. Sharma noted the Marlins averaged around 14,000 people per game last season.
However, the larger crowd didn’t stop Cabrera from being himself.
“If it fazed him, it certainly was hard to notice,” Sharma added. “Cabrera received a large ovation from the crowd as he headed to the bullpen before the game started. He soaked it in, saying the moment made him ‘proud,’ and made sure to thank the fans for the love after the win.”
The Cubs have an expectation of winning the National League Central division this year, and Cabrera is one of their starters they will rely on to accomplish it.
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