After leaving Monday’s game in the middle of an inning with a tight groin, it was far from certain that Javy Baez would avoid a disabled list stint, let alone play in the remainder of this Marlins series.
And, as expected, Baez did not start the game last night. Give the guy a little break, right?
A very little break. Because – you know Javy – he cannot be held down for long. By the 7th inning, Baez was pinch-hitting, ripping a single up the middle on what was actually an excellent pitch:
Can we talk about how Javy Baez, as a pinch hitter, took a 100 mph fastball at the top of the strike zone back up the middle at 105.9 mph for a single? That was a *great* pitch, and Baez attacked it *perfectly.* pic.twitter.com/CIQcnbCjjA
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) May 9, 2018
From there, apparently Baez was feeling so good and normal that he stayed in the game for defense in the final two innings at third base (Kris Bryant moved to right, and Ben Zobrist moved to left). And he was feeling good enough to do this in the final inning:
How’s Javy?
He’s Javy. pic.twitter.com/bw5odIIMWn
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 9, 2018
That’s Baez just caaaasually making an excellent play that otherwise would have put the tying run on second base in the 9th inning. Look at how far he had to stretch out for that thing – that’s a great play! But it barely registers because it’s Javy.
I’d expect him to be in there today, probably doing El Mago things.