PITTSBURGH – It’s been a forgettable stretch for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have dropped 11 of their last 12 games following an 8-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on Wednesday afternoon. 

But it was an unforgettable day for Rafael Flores, who made his big-league debut after having his contract selected from Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday.

“It was fun,” Flores said after making his debut. “I mean, it’s what you expect. It’s just big-league baseball and you get the first one out of the way. It feels great.”

The Pirates acquired Flores from the New York Yankees as part of the package they received for closer David Bednar at the trade deadline. Flores performed well with Triple-A Indianapolis after joining the organization, leading to the call every baseball player dreams of one day receiving.

Flores manned first base and batted eighth in his first game with the Pirates. In his first at-bat in the second inning, the 24-year-old saw seven pitches but went down on strikes after whiffing on a well-placed changeup from veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd. 

In his second at-bat, Flores worked a favorable 3-1 count. Boyd once again went to his changeup, but this time, Flores knew it was coming.

“I knew [in a] 3-1 count, I’m probably not getting a heater, so he hung that changeup and I just tried to put my best swing on it.”

Flores sure did put a good swing on a pitch that was just off the outside edge of the plate. The right-handed hitter whacked a liner that hit off the fence in left-center and pulled into second base for his first-career hit.

“Oh man, it felt good,” said Flores. “We’ve had a few of those this year but that one just felt a little more special.”

Flores was robbed of a hit in his third at-bat. He hit a 105.8 mph grounder up the middle, but Cubs second baseman and potential Gold Glove winner Nico Hoerner made a slick back-handed play and threw to first for the out. Flores drew a free pass in his final trip to the plate in the eighth, finishing 1 for 3 with a double and a walk.

“I thought he had great at-bats,” manager Don Kelly said. “Swung the bat really well, was all over some pitches. Really crushed that ball to left-center and hammered that ball up the middle. Hoerner made a nice play on it. But I thought he had great at-bats today.”

An already special day for Flores was even more so considering the opponent. Despite growing up in California, Flores was a fan of the Cubs as a kid, crediting Alfonso Soriano as the reason for his allegiance to the Pirates’ division rival. 

Though it’s poetic in a sense that he made his debut against his childhood team, once Flores stepped between the white lines, it was all business. 

“I mean, it was so cool,” he said. “You’re on the field, you’re competing against those guys so I don’t wanna be like, ‘Oh, I’m a Cubs fan.’ It’s what you dream of, playing against your favorite team growing up. Like I said, at the end of the day we’re competing and I can’t be like that on the field.”

Though his younger self would have appreciated watching the Cubs clinch a trip to the postseason with their win over the Pirates, the present-day Rafael Flores got to live out his childhood dream. 

“These are moments you’re never really gonna forget, especially in hopefully a long, healthy career,” he said. “It was all good.”