MLB: 31-year-old makes debut with Cubs

CHICAGO (AP) -- When he heard that his manager -- his first-ever big league skipper -- had called him a "kid," Bobby Scales couldn't help but smile.

"Sounds good to me," he said. "Maybe we can hoodwink him and make him think I'm 26."

Scales is 31 years and seven months old, so he wasn't about to fool Lou Piniella. But the "kid" did impress the Chicago Cubs manager Tuesday in his major league debut.

After 11 years of bouncing around the minor leagues -- dreaming and hoping and yearning for just a chance to perform on baseball's biggest stage -- Scales started at second base at Wrigley Field. He singled sharply to left field in the fifth inning off San Francisco's Tim Lincecum, the 2008 NL Cy Young winner, scored a run and made a diving stop to rob Bengie Molina of a hit.

"Congratulations on his first major league hit," Piniella said, "and hopefully he gets a lot more."

In two days, the Cubs will call up a pitcher to replace injured Carlos Zambrano and Scales likely will return to Triple-A Iowa.