'That was special': Rehashing Rizzo's epic HR

CHICAGO -- David Ross had a great view of Alex Cora's classic battle with Cubs pitcher Matt Clement. Ross was there at Dodger Stadium, a teammate of Cora's for one of the baseball's all-time great at-bats.

For 18 pitches, Cora and Clement locked horns on May 12, 2004. Cora fouled off 14 pitches and eventually won the clash with a home run. Flash forward to Friday afternoon, when Ross also had a great view of Anthony Rizzo's incredible at-bat against the Cardinals.

"I would say that definitely rivals that one," said the Cubs manager.

Rizzo fought through 13 pitches from Daniel Ponce de Leon, who finally flinched on the 14th. The Cubs first baseman launched that four-seam fastball out to right field to send the full-capacity crowd at Wrigley Field into a frenzy and triggered an epic Cubs comeback.

"That's up there," Ross said. "With the atmosphere, the packed house, 100 percent, what the roller coaster of the day has been, the emotions. To have that type of at-bat, getting back here in this rivalry game, that was up there.

"There's a couple memories and moments that stand out to me from my playing career here. And that will definitely be one that will stick with me. I won't lose that moment. That was special."

Rizzo began the plate appearance down 0-2 before taking a ball. From there, he fouled off six pitches in a row, including three fastballs, two curveballs and a changeup. Pitch No. 10 from Ponce de Leon was an elevated fastball out of the zone to pull the count even.

That altered count helped Rizzo adjust his approach.

"When I got to 2-2, when I took a ball," Rizzo said, "I was like, 'All right, I'm out of swing mode now. Just stay within the at-bat.' I saw all his pitches. So it was just a matter of just getting one in. And he did a really good job at flirting with the zone up, where it was just a little too close to take."

Three more pitches, three more foul balls. And then Ponce de Leon finally left a fastball over the heart of the plate.

"I put a good swing on it and had a really good result," Rizzo said.

No kidding.

"That Rizzo at-bat was one of the better at-bats I've seen live in-person," Cubs outfielder Joc Pederson said. "That was really cool."

It marked the longest at-bat to end in a home run by a Cubs batter in the pitch tracking era (since 1988). It pulled the game into a 5-5 deadlock and sent the Cubs on their way to a comeback win fueled by seven unanswered runs.

"It's definitely one of my most memorable at-bats," Rizzo said after the game. "With it being 100 percent [fan attendance] today for the first time and having everyone here vs. the Cardinals, it was a really good moment for me."

Worth noting
• As part of the Nike City Connect jersey initiative, the Cubs are celebrating Chicago's 77 neighborhoods. That includes highlighting nine local organizations and youth programs making an impact in the community.

On Saturday, the Cubs recognized Young Chicago Authors, which uses creative writing to "enable young people to examine the life they know and share their stories, so that others may learn from them," as described on the organization's website.

"It's evolved into this organization that serves about 100 zip codes in the city," said Demetrius Amparan, the executive director of Young Chicago Authors. "We just try to help young people put pen to page and find their voice."

• With a healthy contingent of outfielders, Kris Bryant made his return to third base for Saturday's game against the Cardinals. Bryant had not manned his primary position since April 20.

• Ross noted Saturday that right-hander Zach Davies was the Cubs' probable starter for Sunday's finale against St. Louis.

Quotable
"To see how happy everyone is to be back, it's just it's such a feeling that, this is one of those days -- I obviously wasn't here for it -- but I feel like it's just one of those good feelings like the first time the lights were here in '88." -- Rizzo, on Wrigley Field returning to full capacity on Friday