The Rundown: Baez, War Bear, Jimenez, Happ Headline Home Run Fest for Cubs

You get a home run and you get a home run and you get a home run! It was like Oprah’s favorite things, only without having to wait on a w-2 for all the expensive gifts.

The Cubs were playing a long-form game of longball Saturday, beginning with their game in Mesa against the Rockies and ending with Puerto Rico’s WBC win over the home team in Jalisco, Mexico. Because it was both the most recent and most important, we’ll start with the latter of these.

Puerto Rico was leading 5-4 with two outs in the top of the 9th when Carlos Beltran popped a harmless foul to the third base side. But Mexico’s catcher, Xorge Carrillo, biffed the play, which led to Beltran coaxing a walk. Yadier Molina then singled to plate Francisco Lindor, who had singled earlier in the inning. Enter Ednel Javier Baez.

Anyone who’s ever seen Javy play can imagine what he was looking to do with his team already up two runs and a chance to do more damage. Add the charged atmosphere inside Estadio Charros de Jalisco and you know he was just going to grip it and rip it against anything Joakim Soria put close to the plate. And, boy howdy, did he ever.

As an outside observer, the crowd noise made this game incredibly fun to watch. Then again, there are some potential downfalls to packing 15,000 passionate fans into a ballpark and then seeing the home team collapse late. It sounds as though everything turned out fine, but Lindor and Baez addressed their concern for their families amidst some heated interactions in the stands.

The win moved Puerto Rico to 2-0 in pool play and dropped Mexico to 0-2. Baez and Co. take on Team Italy Sunday at 3:30 as they look to put a stranglehold on Pool D.

War Bear, Jimenez, and Happ go deep

Not much commentary needed here, so just enjoy the dingers.