Seiya Suzuki made a convincing return from the injured list Saturday, going 2-for-5 with an RBI and run scored for the Chicago Cubs in a 10-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Japanese outfielder, who also recorded his first stolen base of the season, said he had yet to find his groove but was not bothered by the right oblique strain that saw him placed on the 10-day IL on April 15.
"My batting wasn't good, but I just happened to get hits," said the 29-year-old, who was batting .305 with three homers and 13 RBIs in 15 games before the injury.
Top pitching prospect Paul Skenes struck out Suzuki twice while fanning seven in an eye-catching Major League Baseball debut for the Pirates at PNC Park. The right-hander topped 100 miles per hour 17 times in his 84-pitch outing, according to MLB.com.
"It's been a while since I've seen pitching that fast," Suzuki said.
Suzuki chased the flame-throwing rookie with an infield single during a wild fifth inning featuring seven Chicago runs and a two-hour, 20-minute rain delay.
When play resumed in the fifth, Suzuki led off against reliever Colin Holderman (1-0) and drew a bases-loaded walk to give the Cubs a short-lived 7-6 lead.
"I'd never been leadoff batter in that situation before," he said.
