The crowd chanted “JAV-Y!” JAV-Y!” when Javier Baez walked up to home plate on Saturday night at Wrigley Field, a spontaneous second-inning response to a breakout performance during the National League Division Series that made him a target for the San Francisco Giants.
And then Baez showed he’s just getting started this October, the Los Angeles Dodgers now getting a close-up view of this mind-bending talent during the NL Championship Series.
Baez lifted a Kenta Maeda slider into shallow left-center field that scored Jason Heyward and kept running, diving headfirst into second base. Baez hustled to third base on a wild pitch and jumped too early on a safety squeeze, with pitcher Jon Lester squaring up to bunt and then pulling back his bat.