The Cubs fell to the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't because of a lack of offense. Instead, Chicago became the victim of a historic MLB debut as Cardinals prospect Joshua Báez made baseball history against Matthew Boyd.
On Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs dropped a game to the St. Louis Cardinals after falling victim to MLB history.
Veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd took the mound, looking to keep the good vibes rolling. The Cubs have cut the gap in the NL Central down to 3.0 games between them and the Milwaukee Brewers. And over Boyd's last seven starts entering the weekend, he had posted a 2.35 ERA with a 5-0 record.
There's nobody else you'd want taking the ball for Chicago looking for a series win. But Boyd ran into trouble due to a St. Louis Cardinals outfielder making his MLB debut.
Joshua Báez, 23, is the No. 3 ranked prospect in the Cardinals' farm system and the No. 59 prospect in all of baseball. The former second-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft has made a name for himself in 2026 with 34 home runs and a .901 OPS in Triple-A Memphis. The Cardinals added him to the active roster on Saturday and threw him into the lineup to make his MLB debut against the Cubs. He was batting fifth and playing left field.
In the top of the first inning, Báez came up with two outs to face Boyd and hit the first pitch of his MLB career over the fence in center field for a monster 449-foot home run.
In his second MLB at-bat, Báez went 382 feet on a line drive to left field for another solo shot, and then he went the opposite way for a 368-foot home run in his third at-bat.
Báez became the first player in MLB history to hit three home runs in his MLB debut, and he did it in his first three at-bats. All three home runs came off Matthew Boyd.
The Cubs got a home run from Michael Conforto and actually out-hit the Cardinals in the ballgame. But Boyd finished the day surrendering seven earned runs over 5.1 innings, and the Cubs dropped the game 8-4.
Not exactly an ideal time to fall victim to MLB history and the greatest debut of all time. But that's baseball. It sets up an exciting rubber match between the Cubs and Cardinals at Wrigley Field on Sunday afternoon, as right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera returns from the IL and takes the mound against Hunter Dobbins. That game will be nationally televised, with first pitch coming at 2:15 p.m. Central Time.
While Saturday afternoon raised Matthew Boyd's ERA up to 4.02 on the season, it's probably a bit unfair to be concerned about Boyd long-term. He's pitched like a frontline starter for the greater part of the last two months. And just because a Cardinals rookie was swinging a magic bat in his debut doesn't change that.
