Báez goes deep twice as Stewart, Cubs beat Padres 7-2

CHICAGO — Javier Báez and Patrick Wisdom each homered twice, helping Kohl Stewart and the Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 7-2 on Monday.

Pressed into action after Trevor Williams had an appendectomy Sunday morning, Stewart pitched five innings of one-run ball in his first major league win since July 21, 2019, for Minnesota against Oakland. Stewart (1-0) opted out of last season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kris Bryant also went deep as Chicago won for the seventh time in eight games. Bryant went 2 for 4 while extending his hitting streak to 13 games, one shy of his career high.

San Diego dropped to 4-4 on its 10-game road trip. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit his 16th homer and Wil Myers drove in a run, but that was it for the Padres.

Chris Paddack was tagged for five runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings in his first loss since April 27. The right-hander struck out six and walked one.

Joe Musgrove was slated to start the series opener at Chicago, but he saved San Diego’s weary bullpen by working five hitless innings Sunday in relief of Blake Snell. That led to manager Jayce Tingler turning to Paddack (2-4) on regular rest.

Báez committed a throwing error in the second that set up Wil Myers’ RBI single. But he atoned for the miscue in the third, crushing a massive drive that traveled an estimated 455 feet.

Báez took a good long look as his 12th homer soared over the wall in center, sending a charge through the crowd of 24,824 at Wrigley Field.

The dynamic Báez added a solo shot in the seventh, and then popped out of the dugout for a curtain call amid chants of “Ja-vy! Ja-vy!”

Bryant’s two-run shot in the fifth lifted the Cubs to a 5-1 lead and obliterated a fan’s beer when he tried to catch the ball with his cup before it landed in the basket in right. Wisdom connected for solo drives in the fourth and sixth in his first career multi-homer game.

It was more than enough for the 26-year-old Stewart, who was recalled from Triple-A Iowa when Williams was placed on the 10-day injured list before the game. Stewart threw 64 pitches, 37 for strikes.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Padres: 3B Manny Machado returned to the starting lineup after resting on Sunday. The slugger has been dealing with a sore left shoulder.

Cubs: 1B Anthony Rizzo was out of the starting lineup for the sixth consecutive game because of back tightness. But Rizzo took some swings and fielded grounders before the matchup with the Padres. OFs Jason Heyward (left hamstring strain) and Jake Marisnick (right hamstring strain) also worked out on the field. “We’re on the verge of getting some guys healthy, which is the good news on the back end of some bad news,” manager David Ross said.

UP NEXT

Left-hander Ryan Weathers (2-1, 1.31 ERA) and right-hander Kyle Hendricks (5-4, 4.63 ERA) pitch on Tuesday night. Weathers tossed four scoreless innings for San Diego in a no-decision at Milwaukee on Thursday. Hendricks is coming off a strong May for Chicago, going 4-1 with a 2.67 ERA in five starts.


Jay Cohen can be reached at https://twitter.com/jcohenap


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