You guys remember just how ridiculous Vladimir Guerrero's plate coverage was? From his head all the way down to his toes and sometimes down to the dirt, Vlad could hit anything and make pretty good contact. Well, during the Cubs home opener on Monday against the Pirates, Javier Báez did his best impression of Guerrero, tossing his bat at a pitch in the dirt and getting an RBI-single.
That happened during a wild second inning, when the Cubs scored six unearned runs against Jameson Taillon. All of them came after two outs, as shortstop Kevin Newman made three errors. Jon Lester started the scoring with an RBI-double and was then followed by a two-run single off the bat of Ben Zobrist. Unfortunately, Lester might have tweaked his leg running the bases and was eventually taken out of the game in the third inning with tightness in his left hamstring. The second inning also featured a scary moment, when Anthony Rizzo lined a 102mph shot off the top of Taillon's head.
He pitched the rest of the inning, but was then lifted for a pinch hitter in the third. Kris Bryant added an RBI-double in the third and Kyle Schwarber blasted the first home run in Wrigley Field this season.
Meanwhile, after Lester came out the Cubs bullpen pitched seven scoreless innings and extended its scoreless streak to 12 innings going back to the ninth inning on Saturday against the Brewers. Brad Brach, Brandon Kintzler and Randy Rosario each pitched two innings and Pedro Strop got the final three outs with some help from who else, El Mago.
After the game, Lester said he didn't hear any pop just a cramping sensation. He'll have an MRI on Tuesday and hopefully it's nothing major for Lester. Before the tightness he looked to be on his way to another strong outing for the Cubs.
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