The Cubs didn’t know exactly what to expect from veteran left-hander Clayton Richard in his Cubs debut Saturday night.
What they got was a workmanlike performance over 61/3 innings en route to a 7-2 victory over the Marlins at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs acquired Richard from the Pirates organization Friday for cash considerations and put him right to work.
He was staked to a 7-0 lead after two innings following a pair of Kris Bryant homers, including a grand slam.
Richard wiggled out of jams in the first and fourth and limited the Marlins to one run in the third.
When he left the game with a man on second in the seventh inning, Richard received a standing ovation from the giddy Fourth of July crowd of 37,898.
“It was a lot of fun; I missed it,” said Richard, who became the 2,000th Cubs player in franchise history in his first major-league appearance since June 21, 2013. “My family got to be here. You can’t beat that.”
Richard also fielded his position well. He was credited with five assists, the most for a Cubs pitcher since Jake Arrieta had five Sept. 19, 2013, against the Brewers in Milwaukee.
“He is an experienced guy, and he has been pitching pretty good down at Pittsburgh’s Triple A team,” Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio said. “I talked to their pitching coach (Friday night) about him. We got a guy with a little more experience than the ones we have down in Triple A right now.”
Richard, began his big-league career with the White Sox in 2008 after they had selected him in the eighth round of the 2005 draft. He showed signs of brilliance as a member of the Padres but shoulder issues persisted and thwarted his promise.
“He is a savvy left-handed guy who can control the running game pretty good,” Bosio said. “He changes speeds well.”
Miguel Montero was eager to catch Richard for the first time.
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“I had experience facing him before (as a hitter),” Montero said of his days with the Diamondbacks. “It is not very good facing him. He was a real uncomfortable at-bat every time. Maybe it was just me. But that’s the way I felt.
“When I faced him, he had a really heavy sinker and he was throwing 94, 95 (mph). He had a good slider.”
“When I found out he was pitching, I was pretty excited, because I had seen him during his good time. And I also had seen him during his bad times and I knew something had to be wrong with him. I knew he was better than that. And that was the shoulder issue.”
Manager Joe Maddon said he talked to general manager Jed Hoyer, who was familiar with Richard when they both were in the Padres organization. And Maddon recalled seeing Richard during his days as the Rays manager.
“With the Padres he pitched really well,” Maddon said. “He has been throwing the ball very, very well and there are no restrictions on him.”
With the back end of the Cubs rotation needing a boost, Richard could become more than a temporary solution.
“You want to lengthen out the depth within your starters, always,” Maddon said. “What you have in Triple A also matters. Things are going to happen during the course of the season. This guy has had major-league success. Right now, physically, he is feeling really good. This guy has got a really good arm. When healthy, he can really surprise.”
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