CHICAGO -- For the past two weeks, it was not clear whether Anthony Rizzo would be available by Opening Day. On Wednesday night, the Cubs' first baseman made a strong statement about his readiness with a powerful swing.
In the first inning of a 4-3 win against the Twins, Rizzo pulled an elevated splitter from right-hander Homer Bailey deep to right field for a bleacher-clanking home run. Rizzo's teammates roared from the third-base dugout as the ball took flight -- their yells overtaking the crowd noise being piped into Wrigley Field.
"His energy's been missed in the dugout," Cubs manager David Ross said in a Zoom discussion with reporters on Tuesday. "He's fun to have in the dugout when things are going well. Yeah, it's obvious, but I can't say enough about him being in the lineup, and our success that goes along with that."
Rizzo returned to the lineup for Chicago on Wednesday, following a bout with back tightness that dated back to early in Summer Camp. The first baseman's last game action was in an intrasquad tilt July 5. He went through a normal workout on Sunday, faced live pitching on Monday and was cleared to play against Minnesota.
The entire first-inning at-bat was a good test for Rizzo's back. After watching the first pitch from Bailey go by for a strike, he swung and missed at the second offering. Rizzo followed with a foul ball before watching another pitch to move the count to 1-2. Then, he belted the next splitter out to right for the two-run homer, giving the Cubs a quick 2-0 lead.
The next goal for Rizzo, who finished the game 2-for-3 with an RBI single to beat the shift in the second, is being available for Friday's season opener against the Twins.
"Opening Day does mean a lot to me, to be the Opening Day starter for the Chicago Cubs," Rizzo said on Sunday. "And that's the goal. I feel like, with how I felt today and how I was moving today, it's definitely in the right direction to being reality."
In a shortened 60-game season, having the Cubs' core stars -- a group led by Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras, Javier Báez and Kyle Schwarber -- in the lineup as often as possible will be crucial for the North Siders' chances. As was the case for Wednesday's game, Rizzo will be slotted into the second spot of the order this year.
"He's a big part of this team," Ross said. "Obviously, his resume speaks for itself. And just what he represents about the at-bats we want to have. These guys made some strong comments in Spring Training about the at-bats that we want to try to have as a team and what we want to represent, and Anthony is a big part of that.
"So, yeah, he sets the example. He sets a tone. He's a great player. He's an All-Star."