CHICAGO – Vladimir Gutierrez made the most of his first opportunity to pitch in the Major Leagues, but the Cincinnati Reds offense couldn’t say the same for their opportunities Friday.
Teammates and coaches told Gutierrez to enjoy the moment in his big-league debut at Wrigley Field. It's a special day for all players. A childhood dream achieved. All the years of hard work finally paid off.
No matter how Gutierrez pitched, it would've been a day that he would never forget. But he performed well enough in a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs that the people can't wait to see more from him.
"I was starting to get messages from friends and family that were really supportive of me," Gutierrez said afterward, according to team interpreter Jorge Merlos. "Those messages really just brought me to think, 'Wow, I did a really good job.' I didn't really know if I should cry, smile or laugh at the messages."
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Gutierrez permitted two hits and two walks across five innings, striking out three. His only mistake was a solo homer that he surrendered to David Bote in the fifth inning, a pitch that caught way too much of the plate.
He admitted he was a little nervous for his first few pitches, but he didn't show it. With his wife, son and mother in the crowd of 18,478, he didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning – an infield single by Javier Báez.
"In the first inning, I was shaking a little bit," Gutierrez said. "Once I got through that inning, I just breathed a little bit better. Once I got back into the dugout, everyone was there and I was just able to relax a little bit more."
Gutierrez used the Wrigley Field wind to his advantage. There were strong gusts blowing in and toward left field, so he just focused on attacking hitters. He threw a first-pitch strike to 15 of his 19 batters.
But it was more than just taking advantage of the conditions. He had a lot of poise. The Cubs had two runners on base with one out in the fourth inning after Báez's single and a walk. It was the first time Gutierrez had to pitch out of a jam.
Gutierrez responded by striking out the next two batters. He flashed a smile as he walked off the mound, scanning the crowd as he trotted back to the dugout.
"He’s got a nice calmness to him," Reds manager David Bell said. "Just confident, a quiet confidence I would say. He’s talented and has the arm and all that. But the demeanor and who he is is going to allow him to have a lot of success here. He showed that today.”
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If the Reds created more offense, Gutierrez had a chance to pitch deep into his first MLB start. He threw 67 pitches in five innings, 47 strikes.
The problem: The Reds were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 runners through the first seven innings. Despite accounting for seven of the game's 10 hits, they couldn't plate a run.
“I’m actually really proud of our team," Bell said. "I feel like we came out and had a lot of opportunities, hit the ball really hard when we had runners out there. Just a totally different game out there when the wind is blowing in. It was unbelievable."
The Wrigley Field wind cost the Reds at least one run in the third inning and potentially two runs against Cubs starter Adbert Alzolay.
After Tyler Stephenson drew a two-out walk, Tucker Barnhart hammered a slider over the middle of the plate. The wind prevented a homer and the ball took a high hop after dropping near the right-field line, bouncing over the sidewall for a ground-rule double.
Stephenson would’ve scored from first base on the ball in the corner, running on contact, but he was ordered back to third base after the hit bounced into the stands. Alzolay took advantage of the fortunate break, inducing a flyout to end the inning.
"I hit it at like the bullpen in right-center and I thought it was going to blow foul down the right-field line," Barnhart said. "When it didn’t, I was happy. Really, the most confusing thing about it is how it got up over the wall somehow. That was really weird. Just kind of par for the day as far as the conditions are concerned."
That was the theme. The Reds gave themselves opportunities and Alzolay danced out of trouble.
The Reds had two runners in scoring position with two outs in the first inning after Stephenson hit a two-out double to right field. Alzolay induced a pop-out.
There were runners on the corners with one out in the second inning, but Alzolay reached the bottom of the lineup. He struck out Gutierrez and ended the inning with a flyout to center.
The Reds knocked Alzolay out of the game in the sixth inning, but it pushed Gutierrez out of the game, too.
When Max Schrock hit a two-out double and Jonathan India worked a nine-pitch walk. Cubs manager David Ross turned to left-hander Andrew Chafin and Bell countered with pinch-hitter Eugenio Suárez to replace Gutierrez.
Chafin won the matchup, striking out Suárez to end the inning and strand two more runners.
"I think any time you lose a 1-0 game, there are things that you feel like you probably could’ve done a little bit better to capitalize," Barnhart said. "There were only 10 hits across the board and we had seven of them. Yeah, frustrating, but we played good baseball."
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