Pirates’ Feigl calls MLB debut ‘rewarding’

Brady Feigl wore an MLB Debut patch on the left shoulder of his Pittsburgh Pirates game jersey, a smile on his face and one word in his brain Monday night: Rewarding.

Feigl’s debut didn’t go as he’d dreamed, as the Chicago Cubs tagged the left-handed reliever for six earned runs on seven hits in 1 2/3 innings in an 18-8 win over the Pirates at PNC Park.

But after a decade of toiling in the minor and independent leagues, Feigl had finally realized his dream of pitching in the major leagues. And he had two souvenir baseballs to show for it, one for his firstpitch strike and another for recording the first out of his MLB career.

“It’s pretty hard, but I’d say rewarding,” said Feigl, who threw 29 of his 44 pitches for strikes. “All the blood, sweat and tears I’ve put into this game finally paid off. Just proud of myself and appreciate the support from my family and friends and coaches and everyone along the way.”

The game was out of hand by the time Feigl took the mound with two outs in the seventh inning, as the Cubs scored eight runs in the sixth off reliever Domingo German for an 11-2 lead.

Even so, Feigl was a bundle of nervous energy.

“Absolutely. Body kind of shaking,” Feigl said. “I was just kind of telling myself, ‘Don’t airmail it or spike it.’” Feigl did neither, as his first pitch to two-time All-Star and 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger was a 92.8-mph fastball inside for a called strike. On his next pitch, a 78.7-mph curveball below the strike zone, he got Bellinger to roll over for a groundout to first to end the frame.

That was the reward for Feigl, who signed with the Atlanta Braves as an undrafted free agent in 2014. The 6-foot-4, 195-pounder narrowly missed making the Braves’ Opening Day roster then blew out his elbow and required Tommy John surgery in his first outing in Triple-A that year. He then endured a trade to the Texas Rangers, one season lost to the covid pandemic and two seasons bouncing around three independent Atlantic League teams and the Mexican League before signing a minor league contract with the Pirates in January and pitching at Triple-A Indianapolis, where Feigl was 7-2 with a 3.83 ERA and 1.24 WHIP while averaging 10.8 strikeouts and 2.3 walks per nine innings in 51 2/3 innings over 33 appearances this season before being promoted Sunday.

“It’s an unbelievable journey he’s been on and we can all look to that as inspiration, just to him and everything he’s gone through, the battle and the fight,” said Pirates starter Mitch Keller, who was watching the game on a clubhouse television. “Just seeing how proud his family was, it’s a really cool moment, honestly. It’s pretty emotional for everyone in here because everybody knows what it takes to get here. Just to see it on TV with his family, everything he’s gone through, it’s really special. Couldn’t be happier for him.”

SportsNet Pittsburgh captured the emotion of his family watching from the stands at PNC Park. Feigl called his wife, Courtney, his “biggest rock” and thanked her and his parents for believing in him.

“Just proud of myself for not giving up,” Feigl said. “I know a lot of guys, especially over the covid year and then rosters getting limited in affiliated ball and stuff like that, I guess the word’s just rewarding. I don’t have any other words, really. … It’s been such a grind. Obviously, things didn’t go as well as I wanted them to. But, no one can take away all the hard work that I’ve put into this.”

The Cubs put a dent in the storybook moment, however, as Isaac Paredes hit a leadoff home run in the eighth. Nico Hoerner followed with a single to right but Feigl turned a 1-4-3 double play, then got Pete Crow-Armstrong to fly out to left to end the frame.

Feigl ran into trouble in the ninth after giving up a double to Miguel Amaya before getting Mike Tauchman to ground out on a comebacker. Then the Cubs went on a tear, with an RBI single by Michael Busch, a single by Seiya Suzuki, a two-run double by Bellinger and a single by Paredes before Pirates manager Derek Shelton turned to first baseman Rowdy Tellez to get the final two outs.

“Any time someone has grinded through the minor leagues and independent ball as long as he has, for a 33-year-old to be able to make his debut,” Shelton said, “obviously not the way he wanted it to be, but it’s a dream come true for him.”