MILWAUKEE - It wasn't quite a moment made for Hollywood. There was no sign of Matt Szczur or the bat-boy from "The Natural."
But Anthony Rizzo's "merch guy" sure picked out a winner.
Rizzo typically swings a black bat, but was seen waving around light brown lumber in the latter innings of Monday's 7-2 Cubs win over the Brewers.
It led to a pair of home runs — one foul off Josh Hader; one fair off Matt Albers — that probably approached a combined 850 feet between the shots.
There are no differences in the bats. Same weight, same size, just a different color and a bit of an older model.
This lighter bat was the same one Rizzo used in 2013, so he decided to bring "it back to the younger days."
After breaking his bat earlier in the game, Rizzo decided to try his luck at something new for his 8th-inning plate appearance against Hader that wound up in a walk.
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"I feel like I hit the ball pretty well here a lot and it goes right at them," Rizzo said. "The Brewers are very, very good at being in a good position to defend.
"I broke my bat the at-bat before and I brought this one, so I thought, 'I'll give it a try.'"
The last time the Cubs were in Milwaukee, Rizzo was placed on the disabled list with a back issue during the middle of the series. He went 0-for-5 in the one game he did play.
Over his career at Miller Park, Rizzo is hitting .263 with an .870 OPS, both of which rank in the middle of the pack in terms of ballparks.
But those numbers haven't been very good over the last couple years. Rizzo hit just .176 at Miller Park over the last two seasons with a .628 OPS and .756 OPS in 2017 and 2016, respectively.
With this new bat, however, Rizzo has yet to make an out and he helped spark the Cubs to a victory.
The homer was Rizzo's third of the month and 10th since May 1.