ST. PETERSBURG — Alex Bregman sent Craig Counsell a three-letter text on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 27. One week after a foul ball broke bones in his face, the Cubs third baseman told his manager: LFG!
"I know what it mean, but I didn't know what he was referring to," Counsell said. "But he told me he found something."
Bregman then went 4-for-5 with two homers, a double and four RBI in the Chicago Cubs win over the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field on Sunday.
Bregman's first homer, off Tanner Houck, was a 417-foot, two-run shot.
Two innings later, he drove another homer 402 feet. In the fifth, he hit one almost as far that went just foul, and he settled for a single.
"He felt good," Counsell said. "He was right."
On Sept. 20 in Cincinnati, Bregman,
32, was standing near the on-deck circle when Michael Busch checked his swing and fouled a pitch his way. The ball caught Bregman just below the left eye and left multiple fractures in his face.
He insisted he could play and the Cubs never put him on the injured list. He sat three games. By Wednesday, Bregman was tracking pitches off a machine. He came back Friday at Fenway as the designated hitter, with a C-flap on his helmet covering the left-side of his face. He went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in a 4-3 loss.
Bregman spent Saturday night working on his posture in his hotel room. He'd come back leaning away from pitches on Friday. By Sunday, he got back to his normal stance.
"I wanted my swing to feel like it did right before I got hit," Bregman said.
With the blue and purple bruising still around his left eye socket and a blood spot near his iris, Bregman being back on the baseball field within a week was astonishing.
"I'm not surprised that he's performing when he's back on the field," Counsell said. "I'm surprised that he's back on the field."
The batting helmet is an area where Bregman is compromising to protect himself. Sunday, when he got on base, he switched his batting helmet for one with double C-flaps.
"I felt like I was wearing a football helmet," he said.
He added that he is prepared to play third base in the playoffs after two games back as the designated hitter. He took ground balls at third on Saturday and plans to do so again in San Diego on Monday.
The Cubs head to San Diego after Sunday's game to face the Padres in the National League wild card game.
The two homers gave the 32-year old 28 on the season, with 93 RBI.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex Bregman returns from facial fractures with two homers
