CHICAGO — Before the Phillies gave the ball to a 25-year-old with one major league inning on his resumé for his first career start Tuesday night, the manager offered a morsel of advice.

“Throw strikes,” Rob Thomson said, “because the stuff’s good enough.”

Michael Mercado obliged.

And then some.

For five innings — at hallowed Wrigley Field, no less — Mercado filled the strike zone with fastballs, cutters and curveballs. He held the Cubs to one run on two hits. And backed by 861 feet of home runs from Trea Turner, the tall, skinny righty notched his first major league victory, 6-4, before 38,670 patrons on Chicago’s North Side.

If it seemed vaguely familiar, think back 18 years to when another kid from San Diego sparkled for five innings in announcing his arrival with the Phillies. Mercado may not turn out to be the second coming of Cole Hamels, but as maiden starts go, well, he wasn’t any less impressive.

And when Mercado walked into the dugout after painting the outside corner with a cutter for a called third strike to Nico Hoerner to end the fifth inning, he got a round of handshakes for a job well done.

The Phillies won for the third time in four games without injured Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, and it was Mercado who set the tone.

Mercado gave up a few hard-hit balls. Seiya Suzuki, whose three-run homer in the ninth inning against reliever José Ruiz made the final three outs moderately uncomfortable for the Phillies, scalded a two-out single to center field in the first inning. Cody Bellinger scorched an RBI double to right-center in the third.

But mostly, Mercado was poised and in control. He came back from a 2-0 count to strike out Ian Happ on three consecutive fastballs and strand two runners in the first inning. He fanned Suzuki on a 97-mph full-count heater to leave Bellinger on second base in the third.

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