Quinn Priester’s jog from the guests bullpen below the proper subject bleachers at Wrigley Field between half innings Tuesday evening required a second to understand the atmosphere.
When Pittsburgh Pirates supervisor Derek Shelton referred to as on Priester to start the second inning in opposition to the Cubs, the Cary native and Cary-Grove High School graduate couldn’t assist however soak it in. Priester made positive he took a deep breath and seemed round on the 34,202 followers within the ballpark.
In his first big-league sport in opposition to his favourite childhood group, Priester allowed 4 runs in six innings Tuesday versus the Cubs in a 14-1 loss.
“You kind of forget everything that kind of goes on and being able to see the scoreboard again, the fans, and it sounds stupid, but the seventh-inning stretch, when it’s ‘Let’s Go Cubbies,’ it brings back a lot of nostalgia, a lot of memories,” Priester mentioned earlier than Thursday’s sequence finale. “So to actually be out there doing it, competing against the team that I grew up loving — I wanted a better result, I definitely want to beat them, but it was a really cool experience.”
Behind the scenes, his first go to to Wrigley as a serious leaguer was somewhat extra particular. Priester was given a framed black Pirates flag with gold lettering, the sort used within the flag standings above the Wrigley scoreboard. He was shocked by the gesture from the Cubs, which the Priester household has linked with over time by means of his mother, Chris Foley-Priester, and her work with Advocate Health. Every spring coaching, Advocate and the Cubs group as much as carry sufferers from Advocate Children’s Hospital and their households to Mesa, Ariz.
Priester isn’t positive but the place he’ll put the Pirates flag, however it has turn out to be his most cherished memento from his rookie season, eclipsing the baseballs from his first big-league strikeout or win. Priester, although, has his sights set on the large image and serving to the Pirates get again to the postseason subsequent 12 months. His outings in opposition to playoff-caliber lineups this 12 months, notably the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers, are making the 23-year-old right-hander higher.
“Getting a chance to face the best is what I want,” Priester mentioned. “I would like to have the ability to put us in that state of affairs as quickly as attainable, however the expertise is one thing that’s going to pay dividends for my profession.”
Shelton believes the toughest a part of transitioning to the majors for younger pitchers is letting the sport inform them what they should do. Things pitchers can get away with within the minors received’t yield the identical success in opposition to big-league hitters with out making adjustments. Priester’s month in Triple A after Pittsburgh optioned him in mid-August created a chance.
“Since he went down, he’s done some different things with his delivery, the velocity has started to tick back up, which has been important on the fastball and the cutter, and now we’re actually seeing a different version of him with different weapons,” Shelton informed the Tribune. “It’s going to be important for him to get the last couple starts of the season so we can see how that plays as he’s made those adjustments.”
Priester is aware of he possess big-league high quality stuff. Moving ahead into the offseason, the main focus turns into harnessing it and smoothing out the peaks and valleys of his outings.
“It’s just a matter of being able to do it consistently at the big-league level in those high-stress situations, and the more I do it, the better I’m going to get at it,” Priester mentioned. “And eventually we’re going to be great.”
Priester isn’t the one Pirate with native ties who might assist maintain the Cubs out of the postseason. Left-hander Ryan Borucki (Mundelein) and Jack Suwinski (Taft High School) are a part of the Chicago-area trio, together with Bourbonnais native right-hander Colin Holderman.
“We’re all miserable because the Bears stink again,” Borucki mentioned.
For Borucki, 29, his two aid appearances this week weren’t precisely how he envisioned pitching at Wrigley for the primary time after he signed a free-agent cope with the Cubs in January. They referred to as him up May 30, however the Cubs designated him for project two days later with out the lefty pitching in a sport. After his launch, he rapidly signed with Pittsburgh, the place Borucki has posted a 2.72 ERA in 36 1/3 innings. He made two scoreless appearances this week in opposition to the Cubs.
“I like it much better this way, to be honest,” Borucki informed the Tribune of his first Wrigley expertise. “Growing up not a Cubs fan, so I like pitching against them.”
After dropping two of three video games to the Pirates, the Cubs will want Pittsburgh’s assist down the stretch. Six of the Pirates’ last 9 video games are in opposition to the Cincinnati Reds and Miami Marlins, the latter of which they finish the season with. The Cubs started Friday tied with Miami for the ultimate wild-card spot.
“It’s one of those things where obviously you want to go out there and play as hard as you can, and yes, if you’re a spoiler, you’re spoiler, if you’re not, you’re not” Borucki mentioned.
“Obviously being in division with (the Cubs and Reds), it’d be fun to knock teams out, but we don’t really focus on that. It’s just one of those things where you just take it day by day and play good baseball.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com