CHICAGO — Irish eyes are smiling, sort of. In his Major League debut, Jeff Samardzija gave up the game-tying run that eventually resulted in a 3-2 Cubs loss. But the Shark settled in overall during his first appearance as a Chicago Cub.

"My goal was to come here and show everyone that they can put me in at any situation. I'm pretty upset because Ryan Dempster pitched great. You just can't give that up," said Samardzija after two innings pitched where he struck out two and gave up two total hits.

It was a tough first test for Samardzija. Aside from a botched pitch-out and some wild throws, he did fine as noted by his new manager and the buzz generated inside Wrigley.

"The new kid did fine. He got the sign for the pitch-out, but he threw it to the screen. He's got good stuff, he's gonna help us," commented Lou Piniella.

"I couldn't ask for anything more. The crowd were on their feet, and I just loved it. A pitch here and a pitch there, and it's a different story," summed up Samardzija.

Samardzija and Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis will be reunited on Saturday. Samardzija will be in the bullpen, while Weis will lead Wrigley in the seventh inning stretch.