As Ballesteros debuts, Cubs rally for 3 in ninth to beat Marlins
This was a game for the generations.
The night began with focus on the Cubs' youngest player, 21-year-old Moises Ballesteros, making his major-league debut. It ended with a long-awaited clutch hit from 40-year-old Justin Turner.
After a quiet night for the offense, the Cubs erupted with 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth to pull out a 5-4 victory over Miami on Tuesday at Wrigley Field. Turner delivered a 2-run walk-off double into the right-field corner as Nico Hoerner scored the winning run.
Turner was hitting .155 heading into the night, but he started heading in the right direction with a clutch ninth-inning hit against San Francisco last week.
“I'm happy for him,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “It's not fun watching a great player struggle. But he got a moment, and he did it.”
The Cubs collected just 4 hits through eight innings. The ninth began with an infield single by catcher Carson Kelly. It was a grounder deep in the hole, Miami shortstop Xavier Edwards had a chance to throw him out, but fumbled the ball and had no play. Dansby Swanson walked, before Ballesteros forced Swanson for the first out. Hoerner singled in a run to make it 4-3, setting the stage for Turner.
“Down the line, every guy taking good at-bats,” Turner said. “I was just lucky enough to have the opportunity to take the last swing.”
On Mexican Heritage Night, the fans were loud most of the night, but picked it up a few notches in the ninth inning, which Counsell appreciated.
“Just think about the difference in the energy in the ballpark if that (Kelly grounder) is an out, right?” Counsell said. “It turned on the fans, it's just the nature of momentum. It's not real, real, but it definitely turned on the place, right? And then we took advantage of it.”
Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his 11th home run of the season to open the Cubs' scoring.
When Ballesteros got the call from Iowa manager Marty Pevey that he was headed to the big leagues, the Cubs' No. 4 ranked prospect said he was at home playing video games — “MLB The Show,” appropriately enough.
Ballesteros went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter in his MLB debut, all ground outs, including one double play. He was called up before the game while Ian Happ was placed on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain. This year at Triple-A Iowa, Ballesteros started a 19-game hit streak on April 11 and since that date, hit .402.
“I don't really see myself as the young kid,” Ballesteros said before the game. “When I was in the (Dominican) Academy, I interacted with a lot of older players, played against a lot of older players, so I kind of just associated myself as being like them and never really thought of myself as a young kid.”
There was a nice scene before the game when Ballesteros was greeted by his father, mother and younger brother, who traveled from their home in Venezuela. The three family members were easy to spot because they wore matching blue hoodies, with “Team Bally” written on the back.
Moises credited his father for his hitting prowess, saying he served as his coach while growing up. He started with the Cubs in the Dominican rookie league at age 17 in 2021. Things began to pick up two years later, when he started the season in Low-A Myrtle Beach and finished in Double-A Tennessee.
“He's a hitter,” Counsell said. “He's always been a hitter. He's been the youngest player on his team for his whole career and he's always been one of the better hitters. That's impressive. He's got a gift to hit.”
Happ hasn't played since Friday in New York, so his IL stint could end as soon as May 20. He went through a pregame routine Monday and was still moving cautiously, according to Counsell, so the Cubs decided to make a move.
To make room on the 40-man roster, pitcher Tyson Miller moved to the 60-day injured list. Counsell said Miller was hit in the calf by a batted ball in a rehab outing with Iowa last week and will need some time off. His 60 days are measured from the beginning of the season.