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.
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.
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