Now THAT’S a Homer Party: Castellanos, Contreras (x2), Hoerner, Rizzo

There are homer parties and then there are HOMER PARTIES! Today, within just the first three innings of play, the Chicago Cubs enjoyed the latter, hitting not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE home runs before recording even nine outs at Wrigley Field.

It was impressive. It was fun. And, most importantly … it was necessary after Jon Lester gave up 4 runs in the top of the first. Here’s a quick look at all the homers the Cubs have launched (so far) today.

In order …

First was Nicholas Castellanos, because of course he had one:

That homer cut the Pirates lead in half in the bottom of the first inning. It was also Castellanos’ 26th of the season and 15th (!) since joining the Cubs on August 1st.

Following Castellanos later in the inning, was Willson Contreras:

That was Contreras’ 22nd homer of the season and (spoilers) not his only one on the day. That solo shot brought the Cubs within a run.

Following Contreras was Nico Hoerner’s first career big league home run:

Hoerner tied the game with one swing of the bat, giving the Cubs new life in a game that got off to a horrendous start. That was it for the Cubs in the first inning.

Fast-forward to the bottom of the third and SURPRISE! Willson Contreras went deep again:

That was Contreras’ 23rd home run of the season, 2nd of the game, and fourth in just six games since returning from the injured list. Throw in two doubles in that stretch, as well, and he’s been HOT.

And last, but literally not least was the big one … a GRAND SLAMMMOOO by the Rizz-man, Anthony Rizzo:

That was Rizzo’s second grand slam of the season and fifth of his career. It was also his 26th homer of the season and it gave the Cubs a SIX-RUN LEAD, despite trailing by four runs after the first. Wow. What a freakin’ afternoon.

Here’s how the Cubs homers stack up against each other in terms of distance:

  1. Contreras (#1): 460 feet (108 MPH)
  2. Contreras (#2): 455 feet (111 MPH)
  3. Hoerner: 411 feet (96 MPH)
  4. Castellanos: 403 feet (103 MPH)
  5. Rizzo: 390 feet (111 MPH)

written by

Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

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