2 big homers add up to energizing victory
Rookie Davis clears the bases before Baez’s winning blast
Rookie Davis connects for grand slam before Baez’s solo blast lifts Cubs. Paul Sullivan,
Javier Baez was taking a lead off third base in the fourth inning of Saturday afternoon’s game between the Cubs and Cardinals when backup catcher Taylor Davis launched a game-tying grand slam into the left-field bleachers.
Though Davis put his head down and ran around the bases like it was his first major-league home run — which it was — Baez could barely contain himself. “I pimped it myself,” Baez said with a grin. Davis’s slam turned out to be a mere appetizer in the 978th meeting at Wrigley Field between the two longtime antagonists.
Baez provided the dessert with an eighth inning, opposite-field home run off reliever John Brebbia, handing the Cubs a 6-5 victory in the wildest game of the young season.
The 29-year-old Davis, a 49th-round draft pick with nine seasons in the minors and only 23 major-league at-bats coming into the game, was walking on air afterward.
“Incredible,” he said as his phone beeped and buzzed. “Obviously all these guys are talking to me. My phone is ringing off the hook. It was really exciting, a really fun experience.”
The Cubs moved to within a half-game of the Cardinals in the National League Central with their sixth straight win and 17th in 23 games.
“It feels great to hear that,” Baez said. “The first 10 games of the season, it was everybody talking about us. Now where is everybody?”
Everybody’s still talking about the Cubs, but the widespread panic in Wrigleyville has subsided.
Saturday’s game had a little bit of everything, including the Davis slam, a Yu Darvish implosion, a foul-ball ruling that gave Baez a second chance, an inane rant by Cardinals outfielder Jose Martinez and a dose of instant karma for Brebbia, who called Kris Bryant a “loser” on social media in January and wound up the actual loser in his first appearance this year against the Cubs.
The game turned in the fourth when Baez and David Bote singled off Michael Wacha with the Cubs trailing 5-1. Kyle Schwarber was issued a one-out intentional walk to bring up Davis, who was hitless in six at-bats since being promoted from Triple-A Iowa to replace the injured Victor Caratini.
Davis crushed the first pitch deep into the bleachers, turning Wrigley into the world’s biggest bounce house.
Taylor Davis? Who?
“That’s so unlikely,” manager Joe Maddon said. “I’m not degrading him or anything. It’s just so unlikely.”
Unlikely but true.
“Amazing,” Darvish said. “I was watching from the dugout. It was perfect. Looked like a movie.”
Davis joked he had a “good idea” it was gone, before admitting he knew it all along. So did all of the 39,601 in attendance on a sun-kissed day.
“He really crushed that ball,” Baez said “It was a huge moment for him and obviously his family and our teammates.”
Darvish lasted only four innings before being removed in the fifth following back-to-back walks. But five relievers kept the Cardinals at bay through the eighth, when Baez did his thing.
Battling the sun, Martinez dropped a fly ball down the right-field line that was ruled foul, and the call was upheld after a challenge. Instead of a probable double, Baez was sent back to the plate.
“Thank God we did not get what we wanted right there,” Maddon said. “Unintended foul ball. If that had been called fair it would’ve been much more difficult to score him probably.”
Granted new life, Baez lofted an opposite-field shot off Brebbia, who with Yadier Molina had ripped Bryant after Bryant quipped during the Cubs Convention that St. Louis was a “boring” town.
“I would say it was clever and witty,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said Friday of Brebbia’s comment. “Clearly this was a much bigger event than I realized, so I need to go back and reread it.”
Pedro Strop came out for the ninth and threw a first-pitch strike to Martinez, who stood in the box with his hand in the air trying to call timeout for the second time. Plate umpire Larry Vanover denied it, causing Martinez to cry himself a river.
Strop then struck out Martinez and Molina before inducing a game-ending groundout from Dexter Fowler.
Saturday’s game wasn’t as classic as the so-called “Ryne Sandberg game” between the Cubs and Cardinals on June 23, 1984. But for a career minor-leaguer whose claim to fame was a wacky viral video in which he stared down ballpark TV cameras, it’ll suffice.
So how was Davis handling his big moment? “It hasn’t set in, so I’ll tell you when it does,” he said. “Unbelievable. It’s a really, really fun feeling hearing Wrigley react like that.”