Cubs' Seiya Suzuki blasts home run in first spring-training game, asks for sun to be moved

MESA, Ariz. — If any doubt remained — after head-turning batting practice all spring — that Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki was ready to hit in the World Baseball Classic, he erased it with a blistered home run to left-center field in his first Cactus League at-bat Friday.

Afterward, he told Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon he had gotten a little jammed on that pitch.

‘‘He’s strong enough to put balls out,’’ Taillon said after his start in the Cubs’ 8-1 loss to the White Sox in their spring-training opener Friday.