Reserve outfielder Matt Szczur did not make the Chicago Cubs’ playoff roster for the National League Championship Series, but his bat did.
After striking out in his first two at-bats of Game 4 Wednesday night, Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo switched bats, hauling Szczur’s lumber — which he has done on a number of occasions this season — to the plate against Dodgers reliever Pedro Baez in the fifth inning.
Rizzo, mired in a two-for-29, nine-strikeout playoff slump, crushed a full-count Baez fastball over the center-field wall for a solo home run.