Cubs rookie Jared Young met his 1-month-old niece Lily for the first time on the field Wednesday, the same day he hit his first major-league home run.
The offense’s comeback effort, initiated by Young’s solo shot, served as a silver lining in the Cubs’ 8-5 loss to the Phillies on Wednesday. The Cubs have lost three games in a row, including two to the Phillies to guarantee their first series loss since being swept by the Angels three weeks ago.
Young was the team’s latest call-up, someone they thought could add power from the left-hand side. In his first at-bat of the season, he proved them right.
“One of those at-bats that your heart’s racing a little bit,” Young said. “First at-bat back at Wrigley kind of got me going. And it’s, just stay in the fight.”
He fell behind 0-2 on called strikes. Then, he turned on a sinker inside and blasted it 425 feet, two-thirds of the way up the right field stands. It gave the Cubs their first run of the game, cutting the Phillies’ lead to four.
“We’ve just got to get runs, and you’ve got to get base runners, and a good swing like that can help sometimes,” Young said. “I was really pumped up. I was excited. My family was here. It was just a really good moment for me.”
After the game, he traded a bat and picture to the fan who caught his home run ball. He decided he’d give the ball to Lily.
