With the Cubs up 12-5 Thursday night, Javy Báez turne around to bat lefty mashed an eephus pitch high into the Cincinnati evening at 89.5 mph. The unbridled violence of his swing was impressive, even if the resulting pop fly was slightly less so.
A natural lefty, Javy gave up swinging from that side in high school after it began to aggravate his hip. He’ll still bust it out from time to time during BP, but this was the first time he’d dared turn around in an actual game. But with the Cubs up big and a position player pitching, his manager encouraged him to have a little fun.