Owen Caissie, Cubs’ top prospect, debuts in Toronto as offense continues its struggles

TORONTO — About 90 minutes before first pitch, Owen Caissie strolled through the bowels of the Rogers Centre and entered the Cubs’ clubhouse. The 23-year-old slugger was about to make his big-league debut, batting fifth as the designated hitter in a lineup searching for the rhythm that made it one of the best teams in baseball earlier this season.

Caissie’s thunderous bat could not save an offense desperate for a clutch hit, though, as the Cubs lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 on Thursday afternoon.

Caissie’s call-up came due to some bad news after Miguel Amaya badly sprained his ankle in Wednesday’s victory. Despite avoiding the worst, the catcher headed to the injured list just two days after he returned from an oblique injury that kept him sidelined for nearly 12 weeks.

The Canadian-born Caissie — his high school is about 35 miles from the Rogers Centre — made his debut in front of a large contingent of family and friends. His parents, who live in Burlington, Ontario, made the short drive to catch their son’s big-league debut.

“It means everything,” Caissie said, getting choked up talking about his parents. “They support me a lot. To do it at home is pretty cool. They just sacrificed pretty much everything for me. They love me so much.”

Caissie found out late Wednesday night that he’d been called up. He caught an early flight to Toronto, and despite getting to the ballpark later than normal, he felt he had enough time to get prepared for his debut.

“Ecstatic,” Caissie said about finding out he was joining the Cubs. “It’s every kid’s dream. People are still chasing that dream. I’m just fortunate the Cubs gave me that opportunity.”

Caissie went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and called his performance “fine” but would have preferred to get the win.

In his first at-bat, in the second inning, at 6-feet-3 and nearly 200 pounds, Caissie stood in the box with an upright stance, his red hair poking out from under his helmet. An imposing figure known for his elite power and top-of-the-line exit velocities, Caissie didn’t hesitate to unleash his vicious swing. He drove the first pitch he saw into the left-center field gap. However, left fielder Davis Schneider made an impressive diving catch to steal what looked like a sure double.

“Just hit the ball and run,” Caissie said of his thoughts on that first at-bat. “Schneider made a great play. A welcome-to-the-league moment, I guess.”

It wasn’t just Caissie who suffered through those moments on Thursday. Matthew Boyd was brilliant, pitching seven innings and making just one mistake, an 0-2 curveball he hung to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who crushed it to left for a 2-run homer.

The Cubs had five hits, four for extra bases, but could muster just one run on a solo homer from Michael Busch. In the eighth inning, the first two batters reached and moved to second and third on a wild pitch. The two, three and four hitters were due up: Ian Happ, Kyle Tucker and Carson Kelly. With the tying run 90 feet away, all three struck out.

“The inning started off well,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We created nothing against (starter Max Scherzer), hit some balls well, but ultimately nothing. Then, yeah, we just didn’t get the job done. Simple as that.”

That’s become a frustrating theme of late for the Cubs. Early in the season, this team made sure no opponent felt safe with any lead. But since the break, it hasn’t had a single comeback victory.

Yet again, the Cubs failed to come through with a big hit. They made solid contact at times, but ultimately went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Eight games out in the division, the Cubs still hold the National League’s top wild-card spot and are five games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds, who are the first team out of the playoffs.

Memories of similar offensive collapses are starting to creep up. Those who have watched this team over the years know that these stretches can linger for far too long. Chicago’s offense must turn things around, especially with the way its starting pitching is performing. If it doesn’t, it may be more than the division it squanders away.

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