Cole Hamels' Cubs debut couldn't have gone much better.
The 34-year-old veteran picked up a win Wednesday night in Pittsburgh, tossing 5 innings and only allowing an unearned run in the Cubs' 9-2 victory. He struck out 9 batters and permitted just 3 hits and a pair of walks. He also even helped offensively, reaching on an infield hit out of his three at-bats.
The Cubs staked Hamels to a huge lead right off the bat, scoring 4 in the first inning and 2 in the second. In fact, he actually made his official Cubs debut as a hitter in the first inning before even throwing a pitch, which hasn't been done since 1947:
I can't say with 100% certainty he's the last starting pitcher (prior to Cole Hamels) to get a plate appearance before taking the mound in his Cubs debut, but it's the last one I could find so farhttps://t.