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St. Louis Cardinals rookie Joshua Báez’s first career game in the big leagues was something out of a movie.
Báez made Major League Baseball history by hitting a home run in each of his first three plate appearances in the Cardinals’ game against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field. The 23-year-old wasted no time in his first-ever at bat, as he blasted the first pitch he saw in his major league career 450 feet to dead center field for a two-run homer to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
Báez pummeled Cubs starter Matt Boyd’s 93-mph fastball and sent the Cardinals’ dugout into a frenzy. The rookie rounded the bases with a smile on his face the entire time.
His second home run of the day came in the fourth inning, once again off Boyd. Báez worked the count full and then hammered Boyd’s 78-mph changeup 382 feet into the left-field seats to give the Cardinals a 4-3 lead.
Báez’s third home run also came off Boyd, this time off an 83-mph slider on the outside of the plate. The electrifying rookie hammered the ball 368 feet into the right-field seats for a two-run home run, giving the Cardinals a 6-3 lead. The Cardinals’ dugout was in disbelief, with multiple players in awe of Báez’s historic feat.
The right-handed hitter homered to all three fields on three different pitches in his first three plate appearances of his career. Báez homered off a fastball in his first at-bat to center field, a changeup to left field in his second at-bat, and a slider to right field in his third at-bat. It was a remarkable display of power in his first career game.
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In his fourth at-bat, he proved he was human, as he just hit a line out to Cubs left fielder Ian Happ. At the time of this writing, the Cardinals had an 8-4 lead over the Cubs in the ninth inning.
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Báez, who led Triple-A in home runs before being called up on Saturday, was batting fifth in the order and playing left field. In Triple-A, the Boston native was putting up massive numbers, hitting .256 with 34 home runs, 90 RBI and 21 stolen bases in 103 games.
The Cardinals drafted him in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of high school. The team hopes he can join JJ Wetherholt, Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson to form a young core the team can build around for a long time.
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The Cardinals were not expected to compete this season but have surprised many as they entered Saturday at 61-61 and just 3.5 games back of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.
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The Cubs hold the top Wild Card spot in the National League and entered Saturday three games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.
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