The crack of Cody Bellinger’s bat cut through the murmur of the crowd. And in his first game in two weeks, he drilled a line drive into the first row of the right field bleachers.
On the Cubs’ way to a 3-2 win over the Padres on Tuesday, Bellinger’s solo shot in the fourth inning broke a scoreless standoff between the Cubs and Padres on Tuesday. He was also part of the Cubs’ game-tying effort late in the game. Then, Michael Busch took care of the rest with his first career walk-off home run.
The Cubs activated Bellinger from the 10-day injured list before the game. In all, the fractures in two of the ribs on his right side, which he sustained running into the brick outfield wall Wrigley Field while trying to corral a deep fly ball, sidelined him for just two weeks.
“I wouldn’t say I’m fully pain-free,” Bellinger said before the Cubs’ game against the Padres on Tuesday. “But something like this, it takes quite a bit of time to be fully pain-free. Where it’s at, it’s a matter of pain tolerance, and I feel like I’m in a pretty good spot with it.”
In a corresponding move, the Cubs optioned outfielder Alexander Canario to Triple-A Iowa. They also put reliever Daniel Palencia on the 15-day IL with what the team called a strained right shoulder and recalled right-hander Keegan Thompson from Triple-A.
“You want to have your best players in the lineup, you want to be able to put your best team out there as much as you can,” manager Craig Counsell said. “And getting Cody back puts us in a step in the right direction and that.”
The next step on offense will be to get right fielder Seiya Suzuki (strained right oblique) back from the 10-day IL. He left Tuesday to go on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa. Counsell said the anticipates Suzuki will play rehab games Wednesday and Thursday and then rejoin the major-league squad on Friday or Saturday in Pittsburgh.
At first, the Cubs offense weathered Suzuki and Bellinger’s absences well, but they hit a rough patch in Boston and New York last week.
Suzuki was on an offensive tear when he landed on the IL in mid-April, batting .305 with three home runs. Bellinger was off to a slower start through 22 games, but he still had a .320 on-base percentage, and the threat of a breakout game was always looming.
“He’s been a really good offensive player in this league,” Counsell said. “He’s been off a little bit, but confident that it was a short layoff, and we can get him back into the swing of things quickly. And just getting him back is a good feeling for everybody.”
Bellinger’s return immediately lengthened the Cubs lineup. With him reclaiming his role as the Cubs’ regular No. 3 hitter, switch-hitting Ian Happ moved down to No. 5, after cleanup hitter Christopher Morel.
Bellinger served as the designated hitter on Tuesday and went 3-for-4 with a home run and a pair of singles. Counsell said he anticipated writing in Bellinger’s name at DH Wednesday as well, as the Cubs ease him back into playing the field.
“It’s a way to hopefully get him back playing without having to aggravate it and annoy it,” Counsell said, noting that there’s more risk of that with him running around and sliding in the outfield. “And then we’ll just see how the next couple of days go and then go from there.”
Bellinger worked a 12-pitch at-bat his first time back in the batter’s box, fouling off eight pitches. So, when he faced Padres starter Randy Vásquez again in the fourth inning, his swing was timed up, and he was seeing the ball well.
In a 3-2 count, Bellinger fouled off a sinker on the outside corner. Then, he turned on a changeup and sent it over the fence. Then when the Cubs tied up the game in the eighth inning, Bellinger’s single moved Mike Tauchman to third base, giving him the chance to score on Christopher Morel’s sacrifice fly.
