Mired in a bit of a slump, Yasiel Puig was not in the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday for the homestand and three-game series finale. However, Puig quickly found himself pressed into action.
Franklin Gutierrez, who started in left field, was removed after the top of the first inning due to illness. Puig pinch-hit for Gutierrez in the bottom of the first, then remained in the game in right field, shifting Brett Eibner to let field.
Puig’s first highlight on the afternoon came in the sixth inning when he tracked down an Anthony Rizzo foul ball by making a running catch a beat before his momentum carried him into the wall off the right-field foul line.
“I don’t know how many guys would make that play and stay with it,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after his club swept the reigning World Series champions. “He’s really defending and helping us win games with his glove.”
Then in the bottom of the seventh, Puig crushed a slider from Cubs reliever Hector Rondon to center field for a two-run home run. The homer was his first since May 18, and was also Puig’s first extra-base hit since that time.
He’s second on the team with nine home runs this season, trailing Cody Bellinger’s 10 homers.
