It wasn’t looking like a good weekend to debut as a Cubs relief pitcher. Mike Montgomery threw his way to ignominy by allowing a three-run home run to the first batter he faced, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, a man who’d only hit one previous round-tripper against a southpaw. And when 41-year-old Joe Nathan made his first appearance Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee, it appeared as if he’d be shoveling another load of coal into the engine of the futility train.
The Cubs trailed 4-1 when Nathan came to work the bottom of the 6th inning against the top of the Brewers’ order.