(Sports Network) - The Chicago Cubs' Thomas Diamond has waited a long time to pitch in the major leagues. Luck might not be on his side tonight, given how the Milwaukee Brewers swung the bats on Monday.
Diamond will make his major league debut this evening at Wrigley Field in the second contest of a three-game series against a Brewers team that is coming off its highest hit total in nearly 18 years.
With the trade of Ted Lilly to the Dodgers on Saturday, the Cubs were in need of a starter for this contest and will plug the hole with Diamond, the 10th overall pick of the 2004 draft by the Texas Rangers.
The 27-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2007 and was claimed off waivers by the Cubs in September of 2009. The right-handed Diamond went 5-4 with a 3.16 earned run average in 21 starts with Triple-A Iowa this year, striking out 104 over 108 1/3 innings.
"Everybody [has butterflies]," Diamond told Chicago's website. "I've got to go out there and do what I'm capable of doing -- just pitch and throw strikes and give us the best opportunity to win."
The Cubs' pitching staff didn't give its offense much of a chance last night, as the Brewers rolled to an 18-1 victory behind a season-high 26 hits, 21 of those singles. It was Milwaukee's highest hit total since notching 31 on Aug. 28, 1992 and tied Chicago's all-time record for most allowed in a game, last done on Sept. 2, 1957.
"It was just one of those days," said Milwaukee's Ryan Braun after matching a career-high with five hits to go along with two RBI and three runs scored. "We got a lot of bloop hits. It just seemed like everything was going our way."
Prince Fielder notched the first five-hit game of his career and also drove in five runs for the Brewers, who had a pair of five-run innings in snapping a five-game slide. Milwaukee had plated just eight runs total over that span.
On the same day he signed a three-year contract extension, Corey Hart had four hits and scored three runs for the Brewers, while Casey McGehee hit Milwaukee's only home run of the night and drove in four runs in all.
The offensive explosion overshadowed Yovani Gallardo's six-inning start in which he gave up just a run and two hits while matching a career high with 12 strikeouts.
Starlin Castro had two of Chicago's four hits and scored its lone run as the Cubs saw its season-high losing streak stretch to six games. It is the club's longest slide since losing eight in a row from May 17-25, 2009.
Cubs starter Randy Wells was charged with seven runs -- six earned -- on 10 hits over four-plus innings.
Chicago is expected to have manager Lou Piniella back on the bench tonight. He had missed the last three games to attend the funeral of his uncle.
Chris Narveson will hope that the Brewers can keep swinging hot bats tonight. The left-hander is 8-7 with a 5.90 ERA in 17 games this year, eight of those starts, and lost to the Reds on Wednesday. Narveson allowed three runs and six hits over five innings.
The 28-year-old is 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in eight career meetings with the Cubs, with just one start. He has faced them four times in relief this year, going 1-0 while allowing five earned runs over 5 1/3 frames.
Chicago has won six of 10 versus Milwaukee this year and took two of three from the Brewers at Wrigley Field from April 12-15.