With a first pitch career homer, an early-game moonshot, an end-of-game insurance blast, and a back-to-back situation, it is almost easy to forget that the Cubs didn’t just hit a variety of notable homers last night – they also simply hit a heck of a lot of homers.
Five, to be precise, and it’s high time we enjoy ’em, as we are wont to do ’round these parts.
The homers that deservedly got the bulk of the pub last night was Willson Contreras’s debut blast, coming on the first pitch he ever saw in the big leagues, in a pinch hit appearance no less – and on a changeup on which he sat back and crushed to center field:
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[adinserter block=”1″]A part of what made that homer so incredible was how into the at bat the crowd at Wrigley Field was. This is a team loaded with stars, and that has seen a tidal wave of young talent crash upon its roster in the last few years. And yet the whole crowd at Wrigley is *still* ready to get on its feet for the debut of another youngster. And boy were they richly rewarded for their rapt attention.
At 417 feet, that was the Cubs’ longest homer of the night. And, thanks to its 104.0 mph exit velocity, 24.1 degree elevation angle, and 80 foot apex (those are both very low numbers), it wasn’t even really a ball that benefited much from the wind. Contreras simply crushed it.
The first home run of the night came off the bat of Javy Baez, and, in contrast to Contreras’s blast, Baez’s went sky high out to left. You can watch the shot here, but try not to be disappointed that there is no Sammy hop.
Addison Russell’s two-run homer in the 7th inning was the final one of the night for the Cubs (watch it here), and came just when the game had tightened up quite a bit. Once it went out – and boy did that one get out in a hurry, even more on a line than Contreras’s homer – the game felt over.[adinserter block=”2″]
And, of course, there’s always Bryzzo. For the second game in a row, the Cubs’ duo of Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo went deep, but this time they did it back-to-back.
First, Kris Bryant got the 3-0 green light:
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Then Anthony Rizzo went oppo:
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The two continue to keep their offensive numbers incredibly tight, each having hit 17 home runs. Rizzo’s 155 wRC+ gives him the edge over Bryant (140), but they are both studs of the highest order. They also like to have some fun:
https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/744737235250069504
Look familiar?
https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/744698801487675392