Cards rookie Baez first ever with 3 HRs in debut

CHICAGO -- Joshua Baez became the first player to hit three home runs in his first three at-bats in the major leagues, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday. The 23-year-old outfielder, called up from Triple-A Memphis earlier in the day, hit the first pitch he saw into the Wrigley Field bleachers, then homered in his next two at-bats. He also drove in five runs. Baez is the first player in MLB history to homer three times in his major league debut and the first St. Louis player to homer in his first career plate appearance since Lane Thomas in 2019. He came into the game ranked as the fourth-best prospect in the Cardinals system and the No. 93 overall, according to ESPN's Kiley McDaniel. Blaze Jordan and Alec Burleson added solo home runs to help the Cardinals win a day after dropping the opener of the three-game series. Michael Conforto hit a three-run homer for the Cubs, who had won nine of 11. Baez tagged Cubs starter Matthew Boyd (8-2) for all three homers. He drove his first, a two-run shot, deep into the left-center field bleachers in the first inning.The 449-foot shot is the third longest homer in a player's MLB debut since ESPN began tracking home run distances in 2006. Only Jason Heyward (476-foot) in 2010 and Aaron Judge (457-foot) in 2016 had longer homers in a debut. It's also the second game in as many months where Baez went deep at least three times; he had a four-homer game at Triple-A Memphis in June. He leads all of Triple-A with 34 total homers this year. Conforto's home run tied the game at 3-all in the second, but Baez led off the fourth and sent a full-count pitch down the left-field line, then went down the opposite side in the sixth for another two-run homer. Jordan's home run was the end of day for Boyd, who allowed seven runs on five hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out two. Baez will have an encore in the series finale Sunday against the Cubs (7 p.m. ET on ESPN). ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.