696 games later, he gets his 1st at-bat, and well ...

Cubs reliever David Robertson waited until the 696th game of his 14-season career for his first. So who can blame him for smiling after striking out?

In the ninth inning of the Cubs’ 14-5 rout of the Pirates on Wednesday, the veteran reliever, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning, grabbed Yan Gomes’ helmet and Christopher Morel’s bat to see how the other half lives. It’s an opportunity that, in Robertson’s words, “made my dream come true.”

“[Manager David Ross and I] talked about it before the position player got in,” Robertson said. “If the DH was up and I came in, he could pinch-hit me for the DH. So we talked about it. I just didn’t think it was going to happen. We had to go all the way through the order for me to get up there.

“And then I blew it. I blew it!”...

Entering Wednesday, Robertson’s 695 career games were fourth most of any player without a plate appearance, behind only Buddy Groom (786), Joakim Soria (773) and Bryan Shaw (722). The last time he’d made a plate appearance was high school.