The Chicago Cubs had their own mini home run derby Monday night at Wrigley Field as they hosted the Oakland Athletics in interleague play.
Recently acquired outfielder Nick Castellanos got the scoring started early in the first inning, hitting a solo opposite field home run on a two-strike pitch way out of the zone. His solo shot gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead that they held until the third inning when Marcus Semien hit a two-run shot to give the A’s the lead.
But after that, it was all Cubs and it started with Javier Baez’s 454-foot home run to left center field to tie the game in the sixth:
After that, Ian Happ decided to one-up Baez with a big moonshot of his own for his first home run of the season. Happ’s pinch-hit shot was a no-doubter, going 474 feet to right field:
Later in the inning, both Castellanos and Baez hit their second home run each of the game to pad the Cubs lead.
While Chicago’s offense got it done after scoring just one-run through five innings, the pitching kept them in the game. Hendricks went 6 1/3 innings, giving up just 1 hit and 2 earned runs. The bullpen then had to hold on as the A’s put the tying run in scoring position in each of the final two innings.
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