John Lackey did the unthinkable tonight. The Cubs pitcher singled during the fourth inning of Wednesday’s game against the Reds, his first hit in more than two months. Then he made history, taking off for second before pitcher Homer Bailey even delivered to the plate for his first career stolen base at 38 years young.
I wanna go fast! pic.twitter.com/cS8xPcBtlz
— MLB (@MLB) August 17, 2017
He looked like he was on a slip-and-slide rather than a baseball diamond as he slid into second, but congratulations are in order nonetheless.
Apparently, even he was a bit shocked he stole second. When Ben Zobrist walked, Lackey wandered off second base as if he assumed there was also a runner on first. He tried to recover, but Tucker Barnhart’s throw beat him to the bag by a hair.
And then he got tagged out at 2nd after a walk ? ? ? #Cubs pic.twitter.com/j2U5LdUAwG
— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) August 17, 2017
Lackey may have robbed the Cubs of a scoring opportunity, but a few minutes later he robbed Joey Votto of an historic hit. Votto has reached base multiple in 20 straight games, one shy of Ted Williams’ MLB record. He already singled in the first, and this liner would have gotten through for another base hit if not for Lackey’s quick reflexes.
Lackey snags Votto’s comebacker. pic.twitter.com/6htdL0WrIl
— Kevin Marchina (@kg_holler) August 17, 2017
The Cubs ended up winning on another fluke play, the rare walk-off wild pitch:
The old wild pitch #walkoff. pic.twitter.com/tJikYbgpnw
— MLB (@MLB) August 17, 2017
And after the game, Lackey, with typical John Lackey eloquence, detailed why he decided to do it:
First base coach Brandon Hyde asked John Lackey if he wanted to steal a base: "Heck no, I'm tired." Then he did.
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) August 17, 2017
And then Lackey, after stealing a base gets picked off: “I made two bets. One worked, one didn’t."
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) August 17, 2017
While Votto keeps chasing Williams, Lackey begins his chase for Ricky Henderson.
[WGN]
