ARLINGTON, Texas _ Javier Baez didn't hit his first home run in 2018 until the Cubs' 10th game.
Baez showed his power stroke is alive and well Thursday afternoon, when he hit two home runs to lead the Cubs to a 12-4 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Park.
Baez, the 2018 National League MVP runner-up, hit a solo shot off left-hander Mike Minor with two outs in the fourth on an 0-2 pitch to cut the Cubs' early deficit to 2-1. It was the first of 12 consecutive runs by the Cubs in the fourth through eighth innings.
In the fifth, Baez ripped the first pitch from former teammate Jesse Chavez into the bullpen in right-center field for a three-run homer that capped a six-run rally.
Kris Bryant smacked a two-run homer over the bullpen in right-center off Kyle Dowdy in the eighth as the Cubs unleashed a 13-hit attack.
Mark Zagunis, one of the last players to earn a spot on the Opening-Day roster, put the Cubs ahead with an RBI double in the fifth.
Zagunis started in left field over Kyle Schwarber to present a favorable matchup, manager Joe Maddon said before the game.
Left-hander Jon Lester, making his fourth Opening-Day start for the Cubs and the eighth of his career, pitched six innings to earn the win, allowing four hits with two runs and three strikeouts.
The Rangers' only damage against Lester was a two-run homer by Elvis Andrus in the third. Andrus had three of the four hits against Lester, who held the Rangers' fourth through ninth batters hitless with a walk in 14 at-bats.
Lester became the first left-hander in franchise history to make four Opening Day starts, surpassing Hippo Vaughn (1915, 1917, 1919).
