3 Takeaways After Cubs Let Joshua Baez Make History in Loss to Cardinals

Sometimes it's not your day at the ballpark. And then there are days like today, when a rookie makes such an impressive MLB Debut that they'll likely name the game after him. Welcome to the Major Leagues, Joshua Baez. Sorry you had to pitch to him, Matthew Boyd!

The Chicago Cubs (72-52) lost 8-4 to the St. Louis Cardinals as rookie Baez became the first player to hit 3-home runs in their MLB debut. A historic performance on the road at Wrigley Field for the young man, and he ambushed Matthew Boyd in his 1st three at-bats of his career.

After the 2nd Baez blast, the Cubs' chances of coming back felt minimal with Baez' family in town to see him in Chicago. A cool thing ... but a bummer for Cubs fans.

Baez blast Cubs in his debut

Joshua Baez, a 22-year-old outfielder with 34 home runs for the Cardinals' Triple-A affiliate, has officially acquainted himself with the Cubs fans at Wrigley Field. Fans may have been googling who Baez was before today's 1:20 start, but they surely were familiar afterwards.

Joshua Báez
Joshua Báez!
JOSHUA BÁEZ!!!

The @Cardinals rookie has homered THREE TIMES in his MLB debut 🤯 pic.twitter.com/4FTBDw4dZx
— MLB (@MLB) August 15, 2026

Even the staunchest of Cardinals haters has to admit, this was a pretty cool moment to witness at Wrigley Field. Baez accounted for 5 RBI with his 3 home runs and was the difference in an 8-4 win this evening. But, hey, the Cubs had a chance to come back in the bottom of the 8th!

After Seiya Suzuki led off the inning with a double, Michael Busch would single to set up a scoring chance for Alex Bregman with runners on the corners. Bregman would hit a one-hopper that the Cardinals turned into a double play. Suzuki would score to make it an 8-4 game, but the Cubs' momentum ended there.

Outside of the Michael Conforto 3-run home run, the Cubs didn't generate much offense again vs the Cardinals' pitching, similar to Friday's 3-0 win off a Suzuki 3-run home run.

WE LOVE MICHAEL CONFORTO. pic.twitter.com/OwSErlxIdC
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 15, 2026

That game-tying home run was Conforto's 10th of the year, as he's become the Cubs' lefty-crusher on the bench and in spot starts. Cubs haven't created many scoring chances so far against the Cards, hopefully that changes with a hot Sunday tomorrow.

Boyd hits a bump in the road

Aug 15, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (16) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Matthew Boyd had a rough outing today, allowing 7 earned runs off 5 hits, 4 of which were home runs. Honestly, it was really just a tough three at-bats against Joshua Baez that ruined Boyd's start. But the Cardinals weren't chasing many of Boyd's pitches this evening, and the veteran had to lean heavily on his fastball for strikes.

While it was Boyd's worst outing since returning from the IL in June, I think it's also an easy one to throw away after Baez' massive debut stole the show. Over his last 7 starts, Boyd has a 2.35 ERA and has allowed just 5 home runs. He's still one of the three starters the Cubs would lean on in a three-game Wild Card series at the moment.

Games can go sideways on Boyd quickly, though. He's gone from dealing to allowing big innings like today a few times. Luckily, the Cubs suddenly have a surplus of arms they can use to eat innings or make spot starts.

Enter Colin Rea into the game this evening, and despite giving up a solo home run in the 8th, he ate two innings for the bullpen and could still be an option for Counsell in Monday's series with the White Sox. Having players like Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown nearing their returns should hopefully let guys like Matthew Boyd make sure they're rested for what hopes to be a deep playoff run.

The return of Edward Cabrera

Jun 16, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Edward Cabrera (30) throws the ball against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Edward Cabrera is slated to start for the finale against the Cardinals tomorrow, having been out since June 23rd with an adductor and hamstring strain. During the first seven starts of his season, Cabrera was looking solid with a 3.27 ERA, which included 37 K's to 14 BB's. He was easily the Cubs' best swing-and-miss pitcher.

The next seven starts for Cabrera before his injury weren't great, with a 7.55 ERA while struggling to make it to the 5th inning. Cabrera's season ERA ballooned from 3.27 to 5.10, as his swing and miss potential wasn't there and teams were doing more damage against him.

The good news is that Cabrera is healthy and threw 5.0 no-hit innings in his most recent rehab start. If Cabrera can get back to his elite bat-missing ways, he could become one of the Cubs' best weapons either in the rotation or as a bullpen piece.

Tomorrow's start will be a good test to see where Cabrera is at, but he should be relatively stretched out having reached 75 pitches in his last start. Cubs are going to take the reins off Cabrera and see where he is at against MLB hitters – things go well, and the Cubs could have the most dangerous rotation in the NL.

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