After opening up with the first 9 games on the road, the Chicago Cubs are back at Wrigley Field for a 9-game homestand including matchups against NL Central opponents Pittsburgh and St. Louis.
The Cubs home opener was postponed on Monday due to snow and instead played on Tuesday where the Pirates fought off the Cubs for an 8-5 victory. Chicago took game two of the series, putting up 13 runs and beating the Pirates 13-5.
The Cubs were the last team to hold their home opener this season but at least one player is happy to be back. Infielder Javier Baez is off to a hot start in the first two games of the homestand. He hit two solo home runs in Tuesday’s loss and followed that up with a big game on Wednesday night in the Cubs win.
Baez hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the second to give the Cubs an early 4-3 lead. The go-ahead home run went 494 feet and was an absolute bomb right off the bat:
Javier Baez with an absolute bomb. 434 ft 3 run go ahead HR. ? pic.twitter.com/ODDe5xwj4k
— Cubs Live (@Cubs_Live) April 12, 2018
Baez followed that up by hitting another home run, this time a solo shot in the eighth inning to cap off the scoring for the Cubs:
-Gets engaged ✅
-Second HR on the night ✅
-Fourth HR in the last two games ✅Javier Baez, folks. So fun to watch. pic.twitter.com/pi7F8NllKy
— Cubs Live (@Cubs_Live) April 12, 2018
Through two home games, Baez is 4-of-8 with 6 RBI, with 5 runs scored, a walk and a stolen base. He’s been a big spark plug early in this homestand and played a big part in the Cubs win on Wednesday.
Following the game, Baez spoke to reporters about his mindset:
Javy Being Javy: “I've been focusing on just me and the pitcher out there. Forget about everything, launch angle, the miles (per hour) off the bat. I was hitting with all this stuff and I cleared my mind."
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) April 12, 2018
The Cubs will look to win the series against the Pirates Thursday afternoon with a 1:20 start. Chicago will send Kyle Hendricks to the mound to oppose Pittsburgh’s Trevor Williams who is off to a 2-0 start with a 1.59 ERA early in the year.
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