St. Louis Cardinals rookie Joshua Báez made a strong first impression in his major-league debut on Saturday.
Báez, ranked as the Cardinals’ No. 3 prospect by MLB.com, was called up from Triple-A Memphis on Friday night and penciled into Saturday’s starting lineup versus the Chicago Cubs by manager Oliver Marmol.
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Batting fifth and playing left field, Báez quickly announced his MLB debut by hitting the first pitch he faced from Cubs starter Matthew Boyd for a home run. Boyd left a 93 mph fastball out over the plate where Báez could extend his arms and he did not miss.
The 3-run homer from Báez gave the Cardinals an early 3-0 lead. St. Louis first got on the board following a leadoff walk by JJ Wetherholt and Iván Herrera getting hit by a pitch. Alec Burleson then drove in a run on a groundout. One pitch later, Báez gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
Báez, 23, was St. Louis’ 2021 second-round pick out of Dexter Southfield School in Brookline, Massachusetts. Before his call-up, he hit 34 home runs with 90 RBI and a .256/.328/.573 slash average for the Redbirds.
This story will be updated with more information.
