If you had polled Chicago Cubs fans around the fourth inning of Saturday afternoon’s cold, rainy game against the Braves, they would not have had nice things to say about their favorite team. At that point the Cubs trailed 10-2, their starting pitcher was long gone, their most sure-handed fielders were committing heinous errors and Atlanta hitters could not stop collecting hits.
And if you had polled Cubs fans a couple hours later after their team stormed back for an improbable 14-10 victory, well…
https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/985274861726691328
It’s hard to say whether what transpired in innings sixth-through-eight Saturday was more a Cubs comeback or a Braves collapse. Chicago picked up a run in the sixth thanks to a walk, an error, a single and a walk, then added two in the seventh on a walk, a triple and an RBI groundout.
Then came an eighth inning that was like few frames you will ever see. Here’s how it unfolded:
- Jason Heyward hit by pitch
- Kyle Swarber strikes out
- Tommy La Stella singles
- Efren Navarro strikes out
- Kris Bryant hit by pitch
- Willson Contreras reaches on infield single (one run in)
- Ben Zobrist walks (two runs in)
- Javy Baez doubles (five runs in, game tied)
- Addison Russell walked intentionally
- Jason Heyward walks
- Kyle Swarber walks (six runs in, Cubs lead)
- Tommy La Stella walks (seven runs in)
- Wild pitch followed by two bad throws plate two more runs (seven runs in)
- Efren Navarro strikes out
In total, four Braves pitchers combined to allow nine runs in the eighth on five walks, two hit-by-pitches, an error and only three hits.
This pretty much sums up the inning:
This is the Braves we’re used to seeing pic.twitter.com/ZfLGrwdefD
— Kent (@RealKentMurphy) April 14, 2018
Thus, thanks to a never-say-die spirit, the slippery baseballs that came with rainy conditions and some extremely wild Braves pitchers, the Cubs turned what looked like a frustrating loss into a fairly inspiring win. The two-time defending NL Central champs are only 7-7 on the season despite a manageable schedule, but maybe Saturday’s unlikely victory can be the start of a run.
And as for the Braves… they’ll probably want to forget about this one quickly.
