CINCINNATI (AP) — For the first two months of this season, Reese McGuire didn’t know when his next opportunity was going to come in the majors.
When it arrived on Sunday, he had the game of his career.
McGuire was called up by the Chicago Cubs and had his first multihomer game in the majors in an 11-8 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
The milestone game capped what has been a hectic two-week stretch for the 30-year-old catcher, who signed another minor league deal with the Cubs on Thursday. McGuire was released on May 16 to see if he could latch on to a big league roster after a solid start for Triple-A Iowa.
“This game can battle test you for sure,” McGuire said after the victory over the Reds. “I worked really hard to be back here. I’m just thankful for this opportunity. It was a fun game.”
McGuire was promoted and added to the 40-man roster after Miguel Amaya was placed on the injured list with a left oblique strain. He is the third player to have a two-homer game in his Cubs debut, joining Jim Marshall (1958) and Earl Webb (1927).
McGuire was a late addition to the lineup after Carson Kelly was scratched due to illness. McGuire said he found out he was playing about 90 minutes before the first pitch while catching a bullpen session.
“I came back inside and started doing a normal routine to get ready,” he said.
McGuire hit .280 with three homers and 19 RBIs in 22 games with Iowa. And now, he’s back in the majors.
The Cubs are his fourth team. McGuire made his big league debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018 before stops with the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox.
“In Reese’s situation, maybe you feel like something’s slipping away and you’re asked to just keep going without any promise of an opportunity. And then probably, you know, when you least expect it, you get an opportunity and maybe have the game of your life,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s the thing that makes all these players got to keep going because you don’t know when that day comes.”
McGuire made an immediate contribution when he drove Nick Lodolo’s fastball just over the wall in right-center to get the Cubs within 4-3 in the second. It was his first homer in the majors since May 21 of last season when he was with Boston.
“I was kind of just inside the moment when I got the two strikes,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to do too much. I just chased a slider and I kind of looked foolish on it. I knew I had to settle down and slow down the momentum.”
McGuire then tied it at 8 in the eighth by connecting on an elevated sweeper thrown by Taylor Rogers. It was part of a four-run inning that lifted the Cubs back into the lead.
Counsell said before the game that Kelly will start most of the games behind the plate, with McGuire in there at least twice during an upcoming six-game homestand against the Colorado Rockies and Reds.
McGuire then could see more work after June 3 when the Cubs begin a stretch of 26 games in 27 days.
Chicago has won four straight three-game series and leads the NL Central by two games over St. Louis.
“We knew in spring training that Reese was going to be a contributor on this team, just by the way that he controls the running game, talks to pitchers and can swing the bat,” Cubs pitcher Ben Brown said. “It took unfortunate circumstances to get him here. He’s a good catcher.”