May 27, 2021

There Was Already Two Outs

Ryan Herrera, mlb.com, May 27, 2021:
In the top of the third inning of the Cubs' 5-3 win over the Pirates, [Javier] Báez was at the plate with two outs and Willson Contreras [on] second. Báez hit a sharp grounder to Bucs third baseman Erik González, who threw to first for what would have been the final out of the inning. The throw was wide, however, pulling first baseman Will Craig off the bag. With Báez barely halfway down the line, Craig readied to tag Báez as he approached.

But the Chicago magic man had other ideas, stopping in his tracks and going back toward the plate. Craig pursued him -- though he could have just stepped on first to record the [third] out -- as Báez continued his retreat home. . . .

Meanwhile, Contreras had rounded third and was heading toward the plate. Craig saw him coming, and flipped the ball to catcher Michael Perez. But it was too late, as Contreras slid in safely. Báez even waited around to signal "safe" on Contreras' slide before taking off for first, and Perez's throw to second baseman Adam Frazier was wild, allowing Báez to go to second on the error.

Just for good measure, Báez made it a 3-0 game when he scored on Ian Happ's single to center in the next at-bat. . . .
 
Chicago has now gone 16-7 in May with 10 wins in its last 13 games.

And the bone-headed Pirates (18-31) have lost nine of their last 10 games.

by allan at 4:13 PM

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