Michael Busch hit a first-inning home run that landed at the feet of former Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo during Chicago's 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday at Wrigley Field.
The blast came during a day when Rizzo and other members of the 2016 World Series championship team gathered at the ballpark to dedicate a new Champions Gate monument outside the stadium. Rizzo, who was sitting in the right-field bleachers with his young son and former teammates including Ben Zobrist, picked up the ball after it cleared the wall.
Busch, who entered the game with a career-low .393 slugging percentage this season, said he learned afterward that Rizzo had retrieved the ball. "I saw it play [on the scoreboard] in between innings," Busch said. "I didn't know, and then [Miguel Amaya] actually told me, 'Rizzo caught your ball.' ... That was pretty cool."
The Cubs improved to 54-43 and remained in the first wild-card spot in the National League. Rizzo, who helped unveil the monument earlier in the day, had also spoken during the pregame ceremony while wearing his 2016 Game 7 jersey.
