The Palatinate native plays his first games at Wrigley Field this week

CHICAGO — A player’s chance to take the field for his hometown team is rare, but this week, a native of the northwest suburbs finally got it.

Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman, who grew up in Palatine and played for Fremd High School, got a chance to play at Wrigley Field for the first time during a home game. He started all three games against the Mets, doing so in center field when he finally got a chance to pitch at the Friendly Confines.

He will be in the starting lineup Friday when the Cubs begin a three-game series with the Reds at Wrigley Field at 1:20 p.m.

Tauchman, who was an All-American at Bradley University, made his debut with the Rockies in 2017 and has since played for the Yankees and Giants, but has never had the opportunity to play at Wrigley Field. He played three games at Guaranteed Rate Field for the Yankees in 2019.

After signing a minor league contract to start the season, Tauchman was called up to the major league club on May 19 and made his Cubs debut that night against the Phillies in Philadelphia. During a three-game hitting streak with the Mets, he was 3-for-10 with an RBI, a run scored, two walks and three strikeouts.

In six games with the Cubs, Tauchman is hitting .286 with a double and an RBI in 14 plate appearances. Over six MLB seasons, he played in 263 games with a slash line of .232/.329/.377 with 31 doubles, two triples, 17 homers and 79 RBI.