Chicago Cubs starter Matthew Boyd tried to fire a first-pitch fastball past St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Joshua Báez, who was making his major-league debut Saturday at Wrigley Field.
The rookie crushed a 449-foot, two-run home run to center field to put the Cardinals ahead 3-0 in the first inning.
During Báez’s next at-bat, in the fourth inning, the Cubs left-hander tried to beat him with a full-count changeup.
Báez hit a 382-foot solo home run to left.
Photos: St. Louis Cardinals 8, Chicago Cubs 4
Boyd tried a slider that clipped the outer half of the zone in the third matchup, but the third time was not the charm.
The rookie made history, clubbing a 368-foot, two-run shot to right field to become the first player to hit three home runs in his major-league debut as the Cardinals beat the Cubs 8-4.
“I mean, he hit three different pitches for home runs,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after the loss. “He had a great game. He beat us for sure.”
It was an incredibly historic feat in a ballpark that has seen its fair share of moments in its 112-year history.
“It’s just unreal,” Báez told reporters after the game. “For me to not only get a hit but hit three home runs is just crazy.”
Báez, who was called up from Triple-A Memphis before Saturday’s matinee, wasn’t an unknown commodity to Boyd or the Cubs. The 23-year-old clubbed 34 home runs and drove in 90 runs in 103 games with Memphis this season and is ranked as the 59th-best prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline.
That’s what made Boyd and the Cubs confident in their game plan. Boyd threw a first-pitch, 93.4-mph fastball on the outer third of the plate that Báez hit 108.6 mph, becoming the first Cardinal to homer on the first pitch of his first major-league at-bat since Adam Wainwright in 2006. Báez became the 11th Cardinal to homer in his first career at-bat and the first since Lane Thomas in 2019.
Cubs starter Matthew Boyd walks off the mound as Cardinals left fielder Joshua Báez rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
“There’s so much out there now that you have a good idea,” Boyd said after the loss. “You can watch film on a guy. So, we had a good idea, I didn’t execute, and hats off to him. Sometimes they’re taken, (sometimes) they’re hit for singles or doubles, and he capitalized. Missed with the first heater, and he was ready for it.”
Despite the first blast, the Cubs rallied, with designated hitter Michael Conforto hitting a three-run home run in the second to tie the game.
Boyd wouldn’t throw Báez another heater in his next two at-bats against him. Báez worked a full count in the fourth inning, fouling off a first-pitch changeup and taking another two pitches later for a ball. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, Boyd went to the offspeed pitch a third time, and Báez gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead.
“He had that battle, and we were trying to attack him with some different pitches,” Boyd said. “Could’ve been better. Wasn’t bad, could have been better, though, and he created some damage from it.”
Cardinals left fielder Joshua Báez hits a two-run home run in the sixth inning against the Cubs on Aug. 15, 2026, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
The 35-year-old missed with a looping, 72-mph curveball on the first pitch in their third matchup. Boyd tried to even the count with a back-door slider, but Báez jumped on the pitch and hit it 99.8 mph to right for his third home run, ensuring a date with history at the Friendly Confines.
“Missed with the first heater, and he was ready for it,” Boyd said. “Had a changeup the second at-bat and probably could have been a little more away, and he put a good swing on it and then hit a backdoor slider on the last one. Sometimes it happens like that. Hats off to him, and that was the difference in the game.”
What will gnaw at Boyd more than the home runs will be the preceding plate appearances before the first and third home runs. Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt worked a nine-pitch walk to start the game, then Boyd hit Iván Herrera to dig himself a deeper hole. After a ground-ball forceout, Boyd allowed the first home run to Báez.
Alec Burleson worked a six-pitch walk to start the sixth, setting up Báez’s final two-run home run. That added a pair of runs to the three home runs and made the day sting even more for the left-hander.
“Obviously the two walks scored and having a runner on base, really, from those walks in both those circumstances makes it more damage, right?” Boyd said. “It takes it from three solos to adding it on.”
Counsell kept Boyd in the game in the sixth inning, with the Cubs trailing by a run, to try to squeeze a few more outs out of him, and because he didn’t believe the outing from Boyd had been spiraling out of control.
“It’s one of those games where you make some mistakes,” Counsell said. “The first home run I thought was maybe a mistake, the last two were — (Báez) just hit some good pitches and you tip your cap. Sometimes that happens.”
Andy Martinez is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.