Was this brilliance by the Chicago Cubs’ Javy Baez? Maybe, or perhaps it’s just total bone-headedness on the part of the Pittsburgh Pirates. “THERE WERE TWO OUTS!” is a top trending term on Twitter right now, because the social media world of baseball fans just cannot believe what they just watched.
You’ve heard of “manufacturing a run,” well, what El Mago did here is basically “grifting a run” or “conning your opponents out of a run. Watch after the jump:
I cannot stress enough that there were two outs. Just tag first base. https://t.co/GJ7H2FjmtD
— Jake Crouse (@JakeCrouseMLB) May 27, 2021
Two out, runner on second, top of the third in Pittsburgh, and Javy Baez grounds to third. The throw comes in to first, and Baez starts back-pedalling towards home because….reasons.
Not sure where he thought he was going to go, but he certainly roped-a-dope because all Pirates first baseman Will Craig had to do was step on the bag, and the inning is over. Instead he got flim-flammed on the play, so he ends up throwing home to catcher Michael Perez, but it’s too late, as Willson Contreras has scored.
Baez had grounded into a fielder’s choice, but Perez’s throwing error meant he ended up safe at second intstead. Ian Happ then singled to center, scoring Javy Baez. That meant the Cubs hornswaggled Pittsburgh out of two runs, not just one in that inning.
The Cubs currently lead 4-2 in the 7th, as they go for the series sweep of the Bucs.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.