Chicago Cubs’ Matt Swarmer makes unwanted franchise history in defeat against New York Yankees
Matt Swarmer had a great start to life in the MLB. At 28, he played his first game in the major league for the Chicago Cubs as the starting pitcher against the Milwaukee Brewers. He threw six innings and gave up four runs (only one earned) while striking out six batters in a 7-6 loss.
Swarmer continued to impress the Cubs fans and board over the next week or so as he allowed just two earned runs on seven hits and three walks over 12 innings in his first two appearances, striking out 11 batters in the process. Although he did give away three home runs as well, the Cubs were in the process of thinking of Swarmer as a potential starter for their big games or as a solid rotation player moving forward.
However, it wasn’t long before Swarmer’s dream start to life in the MLB turned into a nightmare. The Pennsylvania-born pitcher had a night to forget against the New York Yankees on Saturday. Swarmer made history for all the wrong reasons as he allowed six solo home runs in a single game as the Yankees crushed the Cubs 8-0.
It was Aaron Judge who got the first homer of the game in the third inning on Saturday. Soon, Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres hit back-to-back homers on Swarmer’s pitches. Jose Trevino, Judge, and Anthony Rizzo also grabbed one home run each in the fifth inning as Swarmer’s horror night was complete.
Matt Swarmer tied the record set by Hollis Thurston of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932. Unfortunately for Swarmer, he also became the first Cubs pitcher to allow six homers in a game since Tom Lee in 1884.
Although most fans were critical of Swarmer, it was a great lesson for the 28-year-old pitcher who can hopefully learn from his mistakes and realize the challenges in the top-tier league. But the Cubs will also be concerned about Swarmer’s poor pitches from time to time as had allowed 59 homers in 287 innings at Triple-A. Although he had allowed just three homers in 39 innings at Iowa this year, the game against the Yankees was surely a massive awakening.
