CINCINNATI (AP) — For the first two months of this season, Reese McGuire didn't know when his next opportunity was going to come in the majors.
When it arrived on Sunday, he had the game of his career.
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Chicago Cubs' catcher Reese McGuire, left, and pitcher Daniel Palencia, right, celebrate after winning a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Chicago Cubs' Reese McGuire celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Chicago Cubs' Reese McGuire hits a solo home run as Cincinnati Reds catcher Jose Trevino looks on in the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Chicago Cubs' Reese McGuire hits a solo home run as Cincinnati Reds catcher Jose Trevino looks on in the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
McGuire was called up by the Chicago Cubs and had his first multihomer game in the majors in an 11-8 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
The milestone game capped what has been a hectic two-week stretch for the 30-year-old catcher, who signed another minor league deal with the Cubs on Thursday. McGuire was released on May 16 to see if he could latch on to a big league roster after a solid start for Triple-A Iowa.
“This game can battle test you for sure,” McGuire said after the victory over the Reds. “I worked really hard to be back here. I’m just thankful for this opportunity. It was a fun game.”
McGuire was promoted and added to the 40-man roster after Miguel Amaya was placed on the injured list with a left oblique strain. He is the third player to have a two-homer game in his Cubs debut, joining Jim Marshall (1958) and Earl Webb (1927).
McGuire was a late addition to the lineup after Carson Kelly was scratched due to illness. McGuire said he found out he was playing about 90 minutes before the first pitch while catching a bullpen session.
“I came back inside and started doing a normal routine to get ready,” he said.
McGuire hit .280 with three homers and 19 RBIs in 22 games with Iowa. And now, he's back in the majors.
The Cubs are his fourth team. McGuire made his big league debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018 before stops with the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox.
“In Reese’s situation, maybe you feel like something’s slipping away and you’re asked to just keep going without any promise of an opportunity. And then probably, you know, when you least expect it, you get an opportunity and maybe have the game of your life,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It's the thing that makes all these players got to keep going because you don't know when that day comes."
McGuire made an immediate contribution when he drove Nick Lodolo's fastball just over the wall in right-center to get the Cubs within 4-3 in the second. It was his first homer in the majors since May 21 of last season when he was with Boston.
“I was kind of just inside the moment when I got the two strikes,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to do too much. I just chased a slider and I kind of looked foolish on it. I knew I had to settle down and slow down the momentum.”
McGuire then tied it at 8 in the eighth by connecting on an elevated sweeper thrown by Taylor Rogers. It was part of a four-run inning that lifted the Cubs back into the lead.
Counsell said before the game that Kelly will start most of the games behind the plate, with McGuire in there at least twice during an upcoming six-game homestand against the Colorado Rockies and Reds.
McGuire then could see more work after June 3 when the Cubs begin a stretch of 26 games in 27 days.
Chicago has won four straight three-game series and leads the NL Central by two games over St. Louis.
“We knew in spring training that Reese was going to be a contributor on this team, just by the way that he controls the running game, talks to pitchers and can swing the bat,” Cubs pitcher Ben Brown said. “It took unfortunate circumstances to get him here. He's a good catcher.”
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Chicago Cubs' catcher Reese McGuire, left, and pitcher Daniel Palencia, right, celebrate after winning a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Chicago Cubs' Reese McGuire celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Chicago Cubs' Reese McGuire hits a solo home run as Cincinnati Reds catcher Jose Trevino looks on in the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Chicago Cubs' Reese McGuire hits a solo home run as Cincinnati Reds catcher Jose Trevino looks on in the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Pep Guardiola confirmed Friday what Manchester City fans had been fearing. The club’s most successful manager is leaving, bringing to a close a trophy-laden, 10-year spell in which he established City as one of major forces in Europe and changed the face of English soccer.
Guardiola, who had a further year left on his City contract, will take charge of his final game against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday.
“Don’t ask me the reasons I’m leaving. There is no reason, but deep inside, I know it’s my time,” he said
City said Guardiola would take up a role as global ambassador.
Enzo Maresca — the former Chelsea manager who was previously assistant to Guardiola at City — is the favorite to take on the daunting task of filling the Catalan's shoes after a decade of unprecedented dominance.
Since joining City in the summer of 2016, Guardiola led the Abu Dhabi-backed team to six Premier League titles and the Champions League for the first time in 2023.
He won 17 major trophies in all, including a domestic double this season of the English League Cup and the FA Cup. He has won 35 major titles across his coaching career including his time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
City was far his longest job in management, having never previously stayed more than four years in a role.
“I will not train for a while,” Guardiola said. “I feel I would not have the energy that is required to daily … with the expectations to fight for the titles.”
Guardiola set new benchmarks, with City becoming the first team to win four-straight English league titles and the first to amass 100 points in a single season in 2018. The following year City became the first team to win the domestic treble of the league, FA Cup and League Cup in the same season.
But his biggest achievement was leading City to the ultimate treble in 2023, winning the league, Champions League and FA Cup — matching Manchester United’s feat from more than 20 years earlier in 1999.
He also brought to England a style of soccer — a possession-based approach that started with playing the ball out from the goalkeeper or defense — that ended up being mimicked across the country, from kids’ teams at grassroots level to rival teams in the Premier League.
“The unique approach that he brings to his coaching has allowed him to constantly challenge the accepted truths of our game. It is the reason that in the last 10 years he has not only made Manchester City better — he has also made football better,” City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said. He added that it was the “right answer” for Guardiola to walk away now.
While he goes out on another trophy-winning campaign, this was the first time in his career that he has gone two seasons without being crowned league champion.
City was also eliminated from the Champions League before the quarterfinal stage in each of the last two years.
City said Guardiola's new role would see him give technical advice to clubs in its ownership group.
“Pep’s legacy is extraordinary and its true impact will be better assessed by Manchester City historians of the future,” said chief executive Ferran Sorriano. “If there is something more difficult than winning, it is winning again. It requires incredible persistence, resilience and the humility to start again every year, with the same energy, again and again. This is what Pep did.”
While Guardiola will go down as one of the greatest managers in Premier League history — rivaling Alex Ferguson — he repeatedly had to defend City against allegations of financial breaches, with more than 100 charges still hanging over the club.
City was accused of providing misleading information about its finances over a nine-year period from 2009-18 — a span in which it won three titles and signed some of the world’s best players, like Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne. One of those titles was won under Guardiola.
City has always denied wrongdoing. Guardiola said he “fully convinced” the club was innocent.
“We worked. We suffered. We fought. And we did things our own way. Our way,” said Guardiola in his farewell message to fans.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola leaves the field at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between AFC Bournemouth and Manchester City in Bournemouth, England, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)
FILE - Then Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca reacts during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atalanta and Chelsea, in Bergamo, Italy, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola greets fans before the English FA Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and Manchester City in London, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola greets fans at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Crystal Palace in Manchester, England, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)
FILE - Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola greets fans at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Brentford in Manchester, Saturday, May 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, File)
