CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 Joshua B\u00e1ez smashed the first pitch he saw in the majors about 450 feet, then flashed a grin to the St. Louis dugout as he began his home run trot.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a calmness and a smile, like, \u2018I\u2019m here,\u2019\u201d Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. \u201cIt\u2019s rare for me to pick my head up to enjoy parts of it. He didn\u2019t exactly give us an option but to actually take a step back and enjoy the heck out of what was going on there.\u201d<\/p>\n
There has never been a show quite like it.<\/p>\n
B\u00e1ez became the first player to hit a home run in each of his first three at-bats in the majors, leading the Cardinals to an 8-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs<\/a> on Saturday. <\/p>\n Called up from Triple-A Memphis before the game, B\u00e1ez had 30 members of his family in attendance at Wrigley Field. The traveling party, which included his mother, Yris, gathered on the field for photos afterward<\/a> in spite of rain.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just unreal,\u201d the 23-year-old B\u00e1ez said. \u201cTo not only get a hit, but three home runs? It\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n He did it with flair, too. The first came on the first pitch he saw from Matthew Boyd and landed an estimated 449 feet away in the bleachers in left-center. The left fielder\u2019s next at-bat ended with a solo shot down the left-field line and the third, on his ensuing at-bat, went the opposite way, giving him five RBIs.<\/p>\n Major League Baseball said B\u00e1ez was the first player in modern baseball history to hit three home runs in his debut. The league cannot say with certainty whether the feat happened before 1901 due to a lack of game logs.<\/p>\n \u201cHe hit three different pitches for home runs. He had a great game. He beat us for sure,\u201d Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.<\/p>\n B\u00e1ez showed plenty of power in the minors this season. When he was called up, he was leading all Triple-A hitters with 34 home runs, including four multihomer games.<\/p>\n He\u2019s the ninth player to make his major league debut for the Cardinals this season.<\/p>\n B\u00e1ez also is the 11th St. Louis player to homer in his first career at-bat (the last was Lane Thomas in 2019) and sixth in club history to homer on the first pitch. Former pitcher Adam Wainwright last did it in 2006.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n