The Chicago Cubs swept the defending champion — and 2021 World Series favorite — Los Angeles Dodgers in a wacky three-game series at Wrigley Field.
On Tuesday, the Cubs swept a doubleheader, with Game 2 featuring Javy Baez hitting a game-tying two-run home run in extra innings (the eighth inning, but the doubleheaders are seven-inning games) before David Bote hit a walk-off single.
And on Wednesday, the Cubs once again got a game-tying hit with two outs in extra innings before walking it off. The Dodgers led 5-4 with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning when Chicago’s Matt Duffy came through with a single to score the tying run from second base (after the previous two hitters struck out).
.@mm_duffy gets clutch!#CubTogether pic.twitter.com/2SHETAFj0V
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 6, 2021
Later in the inning, Anthony Rizzo — who didn’t even enter the game until the 10th inning — took advantage in the left side of the infield being open due to the shift, and hit a walk-off RBI single to complete the sweep (against the three-headed monster of Clayton Kershaw in Game 1, Trevor Bauer in Game 2, and Walker Buehler in Game 3).
.@ARizzo44's day off.#CubTogether pic.twitter.com/7v3mEQDlaS
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 6, 2021
Nobody is happier that the Cubs came through than Joc Pederson.The longtime Dodger thought he hit a walk-off homer against his former team in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Trailing 4-3, the Cubs had runners on first and third with no outs. Pederson hit a deep flyball to right-center field, and immediately thought it was gone. He flipped his bat and looked back at the home dugout in celebration, before turning around and seeing Mookie Betts casually catch the ball on the track.
Hey, a sacrifice fly to tie the game, but not close to the three-run bomb he thought he hit (Boog Sciambi and much of Wrigley Field also thought it was gone, and it does feel like a homer-ish flyball off the bat; it had an exit velocity of 103 mph with an expected batting average of .580):
Joc Pederson lifts a deep fly ball to right field, allowing Matt Duffy to tag up from third and tie the game at 4-4 in the 10th inning pic.twitter.com/xgZaTrNOPL
— Cubs Highlights (@Cubs_Highlights) May 6, 2021
Joc Pederson thought he had the walk-off 😅 pic.twitter.com/8UlOgj7Yr3
— ESPN (@espn) May 6, 2021
God I love Joc. pic.twitter.com/ARl1NJ3TRL
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) May 6, 2021
An all-timer in the premature celebration department, and much funnier for Pederson and the Cubs after the team still found a way to win.
