WASHINGTON — In one of the biggest moments of the game — two runners in scoring position as the Cubs trailed by a run — rookie catcher Miguel Amaya, in his long-awaited major-league debut, stepped up to the plate.
“That pitcher was throwing a lot of fastballs hard inside,” Amaya said of Nationals reliever Hunter Harvey. “I put in my mind: just make contact, let the barrel go to the baseball and let it happen.”
Amaya turned on a fastball and drove it into the left-field corner — as manager David Ross put it, “almost hit a three-run homer there” — for a game-tying sacrifice fly to the warning track.
“Amazing. A dream come true,” Amaya said of his debut. “Excited to be playing in the bigs with this amazing team. Tough one, we didn’t get the win. But we’ve just got to keep moving forward, having fun every day and doing the right things.”
The Cubs’ 4-3 loss Thursday to the Nationals was the fifth one-run loss of a 1-6 road trip. As the Cubs fell short yet again, their newest member provided not just a bright spot, but a look into the future.
“It was fun,” starter Jameson Taillon said of working with Amaya. “He’s a stud. I like him a lot. He’s super professional. I can tell that he really wants to be really good, cares about his pitchers.”
Taillon returned from the 15-day injured list (strained left groin) to start Thursday, and the night before, Amaya had a conversation with him about the Nationals’ lineup.
Besides one blip in the second inning, resulting in a three-run home run — “I felt like it was just one bad pitch that I’m kicking myself over,” Taillon said — they effectively attacked the Nationals’ hitters.
The plan was always for right-hander Javier Assad, who the Cubs recalled Wednesday, to bridge the gap between Taillon, as he builds up his workload, and the rest of the bullpen. Taillon got through three innings, retiring six straight after that homer. He left the game healthy and turned the ball over to Assad.
“Probably gave a lot of confidence because we played [together] a lot in the minors,” Amaya said. “And he trusts me, I trust him. Just have fun and throw to his friend.”
Assad said he’s been tweaking his mechanics, focusing on staying in line with his front side, to improve his command. In an efficient outing, he needed just 50 pitches to get through five scoreless innings.
“That’s the guy we need and are going to count on this year,” Ross said, “a guy that gives us real length and makes spot starts.”
Veteran reliever Brad Boxberger replaced Assad for the ninth inning. Boxberger kept a first-pitch fastball low to Nationals leadoff hitter Alex Call, but it drifted over the middle of the plate. Call hit it over the fence for a walk-off home run.
The final result made squandered scoring opportunities the story of the game yet again. Amaya’s at-bat the inning before was just what the Cubs have too often been missing in this stretch.
He was experiencing the size of the ballpark, the pitchers, the pressure of a big-league game all for the first time. His parents, who had traveled from Panama to see their son’s debut, sat behind the dugout.
“My mom said she was crying every inning, she was so emotional,” Amaya said. “Dad as well.”
Amaya didn’t press with teammates at second and third, looming at the edges of his vision. He worked a full count, patiently waiting for his pitch. And when he got it, he didn’t miss.
