Cubs' Javier Baez returns to lineup day after violent outfield collision

MILWAUKEE -- Chicago Cubs second baseman Javier Baez was in the starting lineup Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers after suffering a left eye contusion in a collision with outfielder Jason Heyward on Friday night.

Baez arrived at the ballpark Saturday and assured manager Joe Maddon that he could see properly.

"I'm 100 percent normal,'' Baez said. "I went to hit, and I was feeling good. Since I came out of the game, I was icing it, so the swelling was going down. It was kind of purple today, but I'm good.''

Maddon said Baez will have a regularly scheduled day off Sunday.

The left side of Baez's head appeared to hit Heyward's elbow as both sprinted after a pop fly by Milwaukee's Hernan Perez in the sixth inning of the Cubs' 2-1 loss to the Brewers.

Baez stayed on the grass facedown for a couple of seconds, with Heyward kneeling beside him, before he raised his head and gave a thumbs-up sign. He had a welt around his left eye as he walked off the field accompanied by manager Joe Maddon.

Ben Zobrist moved from right field to replace Baez at second, and Jon Jay entered into the outfield.

"It looked like [the eye] was going to start swelling. He said he was all right, but I didn't feel good about it," Maddon said after the Cubs lost 2-1 in 11 innings. "He insisted he was good, but I wasn't convinced. I'm certain he'll be fine by tomorrow. But I wasn't feeling really strongly about it at that moment."

Heyward was not in the lineup Saturday night. Maddon said the collision had nothing to do with Heyward's absence.

This collision came on the one-year anniversary of Kyle Schwarber's major knee injury, which happened after he ran into teammate Dexter Fowler in the outfield in Arizona and tore two ligaments in his left knee. Schwarber had surgery and sat out until the World Series, in which he returned and hit .412 to help the Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians in seven games.

"Stop. I'm just saying," Heyward said when a reporter brought up the anniversary. "He said he was OK."

Heyward pointed to eye black on his forearm and knee, smudges that might have come from the collision with Baez.

"We didn't slide like expected to. It was like a big divot," Heyward said. "If we could have slid more, it might have helped."

Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun was scratched from Saturday's game with tightness in his lower back. Manager Craig Counsell said the injury first popped up Wednesday. Nick Franklin, claimed off waivers earlier in the week, took Braun's place.

The Associated Press and ESPN's Jesse Rogers contributed to this report.