NEWSLETTER
Ah. That was fun.
The Cubs took the lead in the top of the first, briefly lost it in the bottom of the frame, tied it up, and then poured it on. So many guys had huge nights at the plate, and the Cubs did some very Coors Field things at Coors Field.
Even as he homered in the first inning, you could sense a Cubs-friendly crowd in Colorado was very happy to be watching Javy Baez. And by the time he knocked his third and fourth hits on the night, they were literally chanting “Ja-vy, Ja-vy, Ja-vy!” And by the fifth time he came to the plate, the chants were just about the only thing you could hear on the broadcast. It was awesome.
His wasn’t the only four-hit night, as his fellow new-to-the-top-of-the-order-kinda-sorta guy Albert Almora did it, too. Kyle Schwarber was crushing the ball. Addison Russell, Kris Bryant, and Jason Heyward each had a couple hits. It was just a good night.
Starter Kyle Hendricks was missing his spots early (with what appeared to be depressed velocity, but we’ll check on that) and got punished for it. He got it under control enough to finish five innings allowing only the three runs he gave up in the first. He also struck out six and walked none, so, all in all, it was not a bad start.
The bats, though, they were the story in this one, as they were smoking the ball all night:
