Duensing comes up to fill in for Edwards, sees Wrigley Field

Brian Duensing has been in the big leagues since 2009, but he had never been to Wrigley Field until Friday.

"I've been in pro ball a long time but somehow I've missed Wrigley every time," he said. "This is my first time at Wrigley altogether, so I'm excited about that."

The Cubs activated the 34-year-old left-hander from the 10-day disabled list Friday and placed right-handed reliever Carl Edwards Jr. on the bereavement list. There was a death in Edwards' family.

Until signing with the Cubs as a free agent in December, Duensing had been a career American Leaguer, having pitched for the Minnesota Twins from 2009-15 and for the Baltimore Orioles last year.

He made his Cubs regular-season debut in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning. Duensing had been on the 10-day disabled list because of lower-back tightness. On a rehab assignment at Class AAA Iowa, Duensing made 2 appearances, pitching 3 scoreless innings with no walks and 5 strikeouts.

"I feel good," he said. "I feel fine. Back's good. Arm's good. Everything's so far, so good."

Duensing got to know his new teammates in spring training and picked up the positive vibe that came with the Cubs winning last year's World Series.

"I get the vibe that they're going to do it again, but not like in a cocky or braggy way," he said. "We're going to go out here and we're going to have fun. We're going to take care of business, and we're going to have fun doing it. That's just kind of the vibe I got from them."

Entering Friday, left-handed hitters had batted .236 against Duensing while righties hit .292 against him.

"I just keep hitters off-balance," he said. "I'm not a guy who's going to overpower hitters. I kind of want to put it in play, but I want them to put it in play as weakly as possible. If I'm keeping hitters off-balance, I'm usually pitching at my best."

Happ-y days at Iowa:

Top prospect Ian Happ entered Friday's game for Class AAA Iowa with 5 home runs. That led the organization. Happ, a second baseman and outfielder, was the Cubs' first-round draft pick in 2015.

Brian Duensing got a good look at Happ during his minor-league rehab assignment.

"He's incredible," Duensing said. "He's an incredible player. Even better, he's a good person. He's fun to pull for. When puts the ball in play, it makes a little bit different sound off his bat than some other guys."