Brian Matusz, who was part of an unbelievable 2016 Cubs win, tragically passes away

According to longtime Baltimore Orioles beat writer Roch Kubatko of MASN, former big league left-hander Brian Matusz has passed away at the age of 37.

Matusz, drafted by the Orioles out of the University of San Diego with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft, spent his entire career in Baltimore - save a lone appearance with the Chicago Cubs back in 2016. The appearance marked Matusz' first start in four years and it came against the Seattle Mariners. Suffice to say, it did not go as planned.

Seattle roughed him up for six runs in three innings as the Mariners put the Cubs in an early 6-0 hole on a Sunday night game at Wrigley Field. From there, though, Chicago chipped away, scoring in the fifth, seventh and ninth, erasing the lead and sending the game to extras. In the bottom of the 12th, one of the most unforgettable regular-season wins from that amazing 2016 season came to be, when Jon Lester pinch-hit and laid down a perfect bunt to drive in the winning run.

So, while it's a role I'm sure he'd have rather not played given how his outing went, Matusz has a place in Cubs history as part of the team that won 103 games and erased a 108-year championship drought. As I said, it was his only MLB appearance not wearing a Baltimore Orioles uniform - but the game was one Cubs fans talk about to this day.

That game might be remembered - but Matusz holds a special spot in the hearts of fans in Birdland. After being taken in the first round in '07, the lefty made his big-league debut just two years later, turning in five innings of one-run ball in a win against the Detroit Tigers. His best season came the following year, 2010, when he made 32 starts for the O's, working to a 10-12 record and 4.32 ERA.

From there, things got a bit rockier for Matusz, who was up and down between Baltimore and Triple-A in 2011, eventually losing his rotation spot and moving to the bullpen. From 2013-15, he re-invented himself nicely as a reliever, tossing 151 2/3 innings and carrying a respectable 3.32 ERA for manager Buck Showalter.

During the Orioles' unforgettable 2014 run, Matusz was a key piece of the bullpen mix, making 63 appearances and finishing 11 games. He appeared just once in the postseason, coming in to mop up a disastrous late-inning meltdown by Darren O'Day in Game 1 - an affair the Kansas City Royals rallied to win by an 8-6 final.

His best year in Baltimore turned out to be his last one. In 2015, he made 58 appearances, pitching to a career-best 2.94 ERA. The following summer, the club traded him to Atlanta, who promptly designated him for assignment. Chicago picked him up on a minor-league deal a few weeks later, setting up his small role in an unbelievable Cubs win at the end of July - and leading to his being able to say something only a select group of players can claim: he was a World Series champion.