Kyle Schwarber hit a double seconds after broadcasters said he would strike out 3 times
Before Tuesday night, Kyle Schwarber hadn't played in a major league game since April 7.
The Cubs slugger went down with an ACL tear that night, and missed the entire regular season. After getting activated from the disabled list on Saturday and playing two minor league games, Chicago took their chances on a rusty Schwarber, embedding him in the starting lineup for Game 1 of the World Series.
The Cubs were confident in their young slugger.
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FOX's broadcasters, on the other hand, were not.
During a break in the action, broadcaster and former All-Star Pete Rose said Schwarber would strike out three times against the Cleveland Indians in Game 1.
Color commentator John Smoltz agreed.
Schwarber did strike out in his first at-bat, so when he returned to the plate in the fourth inning, the former Cy Young Award winner called it a "monumental task" for Schwarber to take that much time off and be able to produce.
Seconds later, Schwarber proved him wrong.
The 23-year-old mashed a double off the right field wall — his first hit of 2016 — making him the first position player ever to record his first hit of the season during the World Series. Schwarber hit 16 home runs in 69 games for the Cubs last year, and tacked on five more bombs in the 2015 postseason.
His bat could be a difference maker against the Indians, who took Game 1 with a 6-0 victory.
