Nate Pearson will always remember his Cubs debut.
A big reason for this is a series of controversial and intense events.
Pearson took the mound for the Cubs in the bottom of the seventh inning when the team was losing 6-0 to the Reds in Cincinnati.
It was his first time pitching in a Cubs uniform since being acquired from the Blue Jays in a trade on Saturday.
Things started well for the powerful right-hander, with a flawless opening frame featuring popouts, grounders and lineouts.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell brought Pearson onto the mound in the eighth inning, and he promptly struck out the leadoff batter.
But then he allowed a long hit to former Cubs player Jeimer Candelario.
Candelario watched the ball for a moment before taking off, and on the next pitch, Pearson hit a 96 mph fastball to Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson, who wasn’t even looking at Candelario as he watched the home run soar into the right field stands.
Stevenson was not happy about the hit and showed signs of frustration, leading several Reds players to jump onto the top step of the dugout, but nothing serious enough to clear the benches.
As Stevenson walked toward first base, the umpires huddled and discussed the matter, ultimately deciding to eject Pearson from the game.
Counsell was so infuriated by the call that he stormed out of the dugout and told the umpires that the hit by pitch was unintentional and questioned why his pitcher was called out.
“Look, getting hit in the head is not good,” Counsell said. “It’s not good at all. Not good by their team, not good by our team. There’s no intent there.”
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Both teams were given warnings following the incident.
Pearson said he tried to throw an inside two-seam fastball to Stevenson, but the ball slid.
“It all happened so fast,” Pearson said. “It was definitely unintentional. I never intended to do that in my first game as a Cub.”
After Pearson left the game, Drew Smyly came on and got the final two outs of the inning.
The Cubs ended up losing the game 7-1.
