Contreras blasts homer in 1st at-bat in Cubs win |
CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs rookie catcher Willson Contreras hit a two-run homer to center field in his first major league at-bat on Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates to help the Cubs win 10-5.
Contreras high-fived all of his new teammates and received a curtain call after the impressive display. He went to help warm-up pitchers in the bullpen after the inning. The previous two Cubs with homers in their first plate appearance were Jorge Soler (8/27/2014) and Starlin Castro (5/7/2010). The Cubs are now an impressive 8-1 against the Pirates this season and fifteen games ahead of the Pirates in the National League Central. The young Cubs sluggers showed off their tremendous power potential again as the team hit five homers on the day. Javier Baez hit a fly ball to center field in the bottom of the second to put the Cubs up 2-0. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo went back-to-back homers in the third inning to make it Cubs 4-0. Addison Russell hit a two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the seventh inning to make it 10-4 Cubs. Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks had a stellar performance going six innings allowing seven hits, one earned run, impressive twelve strikeouts, and zero walks. He lowered his season ERA to 2.94. Pedro Strop came in to finish off the Pirates in the ninth inning. Veteran righty John Lackey (7-2, 2.66 ERA) will face lefty Jaime Garcia (4-6, 3.93 ERA) of the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night. WILLSON!!https://t.co/LletEq5jDq
