A Starlin is Born

Desperate times call for dramatic measures.

Jim Hendry responded to the Cubs' listless three-game sweep at the hands of Pittsburgh with a bold move, calling up 20-year-old shortstopStarlin Castro from Class Double-A Tennessee on Friday.

Castro, who was ranked as the Cubs' top prospectby Baseball America during the offseason, made his major-league debut one for the ages in the Cubs' 14-7 rout of Cincinnati on Friday night.

The right-handed hitting Castro went 2-for-5 with a homer and a triple, and set an all-time major league record with six RBI in his big league debut. The Elias Sports Bureau reported that Ben Grieve of the Oakland Athletics was the last debuting player to knock in five, against San Francisco, on Sept. 3, 1997.

With a three-run blast over the right-field fence in the second inning off Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey, Castro became just the sixth Cubs player to homer in his first major league at-bat.

The others, according to the 2010 Chicago Cubs Media Guide, were:

* Paul Gillespie against the host New York Giants on Sept. 11, 1942.

* Frank Ernaga against the Milwaukee Braves at Wrigley Field on May 24, 1957.

* Cuno Barragan against the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley on Sept. 1, 1961.

* Carmelo Martinez against Cincinnati at the Friendly Confines on Aug. 22, 1983.

* Jim Bullinger at St. Louis on June 8, 1992.

Castro, who batted in the eighth spot Friday, hit .376 in 26 games with Tennessee this year.

To make room on the roster for Castro, the Cubs optioned infielder Chad Tracy to Triple-A Iowa.

Ryan Theriot on Friday made his first start at second base since June 12, 1997 and went 1-for-6.