CHICAGO -- Carlos Pena shivered through April and didn't hit his first home run until May 3 in Los Angeles. On Monday, he connected on home run No. 20 of the season and No. 250 of his career in the Cubs' 6-1 win over the Phillies.
"I'm just extremely grateful God has given me the opportunity to hit one home run in the Major Leagues, let alone 250," Pena said. "That's something I don't take for granted."
Pena's first career homer came on Sept. 19, 2001, in the fourth inning off Oakland's Gil Heredia. He hit his second in the same game in the eighth. That must have seemed much easier than it did in the first month of the season this year.
"April was difficult, no doubt about it," said Pena, who batted .159 in April with one extra base hit. "It was extremely cold and the wind was usually blowing in against hitters.
"It was tough mentally, but I had my teammates behind me and always encouraging me," he said. "You can't do it alone. It gets tough. When you have a good support system and good guys around you, it makes things a little easier."
This is Pena's sixth 20-homer season, and he reached the milestone on a 90-plus-degree night, which was much more hitter friendly.
"When you get a night like this, it's pretty conducive [to home runs]," Cubs manager Mike Quade said. "If you get it elevated, it's going to go."
And it did for the 250th time for Pena.
Congrats hot stuff!
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