Last night, the Chicago Cubs absolutely rocked the Arizona Diamondbacks for 16 runs on 17 hits and four walks. So … I guess Patrick Corbin’s hot streak is over. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
As I’m sure you can image, seven of those 17 hits fell for extra bases, five of which left the park completely. Which means that each of Ian Happ (nice), Anthony Rizzo (twice), Jon Freakin’ Lester (somehow) and Javy Baez (of course) hit home runs last night. Let’s take a closer look at each and have a little Wednesday morning party.
Here’s a quick look at all five dingers from last night:
Our 3rd five-homer game of the year, and first at #WrigleyField. pic.twitter.com/wXpQligQ9Z
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 2, 2017
Ian Happ’s solo shot was first and it gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. According to Statcast, the ball traveled just 389 feet (so it was not a monster blast) and was struck at just 97.3 MPH. And if ESPN’s Home Run Tracker is accurate, Wrigley is the only park where that ball would’ve left the yard.
Good thing that’s just where he was.
Happ is now hitting .250/.321/.504 on the season with 14 home runs in just 254 plate appearances (that’s around a 33 homer pace, if he were to get a full season’s worth of plate appearances). Yeah, it’s been a fantastic debut.
Later that same inning, Anthony Rizzo sent his 25th homer of the season to almost exactly the same spot. And, like Happ’s dinger, Rizzo’s first homer of the night traveled exactly 389 feet. The two-run shot extended the Cubs’ lead from 4-0 to 6-0, although his was hit a lot harder (103.4 MPH). We’ll get into Rizzo’s stats after we cover his second homer of the night.
The next homer of the night came just an inning later and from possibly the most unexpected sources: Jon Lester. Yep, the man who started his career with an 0-66 streak at the plate has hit his first Major League home run (a two-run shot) and it was beautiful.
If you can believe it, Lester’s homer traveled further (398 feet) and was hit harder (103.5 MPH) than either of Happ or Rizzo’s blasts from an inning earlier. That one gave the Cubs an 8-0 lead. With a single later in the game to boot, Lester is now hitting a career-best .150/.205/.275. His 21 wRC+ is not just the highest mark of his career, it’s the only time it’s been above 0.
With a 100.8 MPH blast off the bat, Javy Baez sent his 14th homer of the season 403 feet into the Chicago night (and once again, into roughly the same exact spot as the first three homers). That one was a three-run shot and gave the Cubs a commanding 15-3 lead. That was the only hit for Baez (1-5) last night, and although he’s slowed way down lately, his second half numbers are still fantastic: .292/.333/.583 (126 wRC+).
The fifth and final homer of the evening was Anthony Rizzo’s second of the night. He hit a solo shot in the bottom of the 7th inning to give the Cubs their 16th run of the night (which is now their season high). This one also traveled 403 feet to roughly the same area and left the bat at 101.6 MPH. That was Rizzo’s 26th (and team-leading) home run of the season. His slash line is up to .262/.389/.526, which is good for a 136 wRC+.
Chicago Cubs Home Run Leaderboard
- Anthony Rizzo: 26 (13th in MLB)
- Kris Bryant: 20 (T-41st)
- Kyle Schwarber: 17 (T-63rd)
- Willson Contreras: 16 (T-78th)
- Javier Baez: 14 (T-92nd)
- Ian Happ: 14
- Addison Russell: 10
- Jason Heyward: 8
- Ben Zobrist: 8
- Albert Almora Jr.: 4
