PITTSBURGH -- Before Wednesday night's game at PNC Park, Gift Ngoepe worried he might burst into tears the moment he heard his name called by Pirates manager Clint Hurdle.
When Ngoepe took the field to play second base as part of a double-switch in the fourth inning, third baseman Josh Harrison held his hand up to Ngoepe's chest, as if he was monitoring the rookie's heartbeat. Ngoepe, the first African-born player to reach the big leagues, slowed his pulse enough to record a single up the middle off Cubs left-hander Jon Lester in the first at-bat of his Major League career.