WASHINGTON D.C. — The club can’t get back to Chicago fast enough after a forgettable week against National League East teams.

Over the course of seven games on the road, the Cubs were swept by the Marlins in Miami then lost 3-of-4 to the Nationals in Washington D.C. The last of those came in heartbreaking fashion on Thursday, as a three-run comeback by the visitors was erased by a walk-off homer by the Nationals’ Alex Call in the ninth off Brad Boxberger.

Of the six losses on the road trip, including Thursday, the Cubs lost five by a single run, and drops the club back under .500 at 15-16.

Yet this lost road trip did have a bright spot – and it concerns a rookie who finally got his chance on the major league level.

Cubs rookie catcher Miguel Amaya, who has been with the franchise since they signed him as a free agent in 2015, finally got the chance to join the big league club.

He’s been in the team’s minor league system since 2016 and was even the Cubs’ top-rated prospect at one time. But all that time he remained in the minors, spending the majority of 2021, 2023, and the first month of 2023 with Double-A Tennessee.

With Yan Gomes going on the 7-day concussion list this week, Amaya finally got his call-up to the majors this week. He spent the first two games of his career on the bench but was able to get his first start on Thursday as he caught starter Jameson Taillon.

He did so with his parents, Anny and Max Amaya, sitting behind the Cubs’ dugout. Broadcast cameras caught the couple rooting on Miguel a few times during the contest on Thursday afternoon at National Park.

Amaya would finish 0-for-2 in his major league debut on Thursday but did drive in a run on a long flyout to left field during the Cubs’ three-run eighth inning.

Now the catcher and the Cubs head home to start a three-game series with the Marling on Friday at Wrigley Field. It’s part of a six-game homestand that will end with a three-game series against the Cardinals starting next Monday.