Add “the relay throw that wasn’t” to City Series lore.
The Chicago Cubs trailed the White Sox by a run in the fifth inning of Saturday’s series finale but had Cody Bellinger on first with two outs.
Isaac Paredes ripped a double to left field, but Andrew Benintendi got to the ball quickly and made a strong relay throw to shortstop Brooks Baldwin, who caught the ball near the foul line on the precipice of the infield dirt.
Bellinger was one step past third when Baldwin caught the ball. But instead of throwing to the plate for what should have been an easy inning-ending out, Baldwin didn’t attempt a play, allowing Bellinger to score the tying run.
It remained tied until the eighth, when catcher Miguel Amaya’s two-run single put the Cubs in position for a 3-1 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 38,341 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Cubs completed a two-game sweep of the South Side portion of the City Series and went 4-0 against the Sox this season. The Cubs (59-60) have won eight of their last 10 and are the closest they’ve been to .500 since June 6.
The Sox (28-91) joined the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics as the only teams in MLB history to lose 91-plus times in the first 119 games of a season. They’ve won only once in their last 25 games.
The Cubs won the first three City Series games by identical 7-6 scores. The fourth will be largely remembered for the gamble that paid off in the fifth.
“It got pretty loud during that time,” Baldwin said. “As quick as (Benintendi) got to it in the corner and got it to me, I peeked and when I peeked, (Bellinger) was halfway to third. So in the back of my mind I was like, ‘There’s no way he’s going to get sent here, so I’m going to look to the back door and see if there’s a play at second.’ It just so happened that he sent him.
“I turned and looked at second, and by the time I looked back he was almost to home plate. I was kind of surprised when I saw it, but we talked about it and next time just get it in, go to the lead base.”
Bellinger was running hard on contact with two outs and assumed Benintendi bobbled the ball when he saw third base coach Willie Harris wave him home. Manager Craig Counsell said the Cubs might have caught a break on the send. The Cubs dugout was amped after the Sox’s failure to make a throw allowed them to tie the game.
“I honestly had no idea what was going on until after the play,” Bellinger said. “I thought it was going to be a bang-bang play because I didn’t see where the ball was. … Runs are hard to get sometimes, so definitely it was nice to get one there and kind of get the momentum back on our side.”
Baldwin said it was “very hard to communicate” in that situation “with me being so far away from everybody in the outfield.”
“Just got to have instincts and feel for the game there,” Baldwin said.
Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore also said he couldn’t hear anything while the play unfolded.
“Even if (third baseman Miguel Vargas) was screaming, ‘Four,’ (as in throw home) I don’t think Brooks would have heard him,” Sizemore said. “It was one of those plays where it was unfortunate he didn’t see what was happening. He still had a lot of time, but I guess in that situation, I don’t think he was expecting that guy to go.
“Maybe looking to see if we had a play at second with the hitter and it happens. It’s going to happen sometime.”
With the game even again, left-hander Justin Steele continued to keep the Sox in check, allowing one unearned run in six innings.
“Obviously it’s awesome when things do go your way,” Steele said. “Pitching being tied or pitching with a lead is so much better than pitching down because when you’re down, you’re just trying your best to not give up any more runs, keep it within distance and whatnot. So being tied up definitely gives you confidence.”
Baldwin considered it a lesson learned.
“And there’s going to be plenty more to come,” he said. “It’s going to happen throughout plenty more games. Next time just get it to the lead base.”
Still, the sequence only tied the game. Amaya’s two-run hit in the eighth gave the Cubs the lead, and Héctor Neris recovered from an error to begin the ninth by retiring the next three batters to wrap up the series.
The Cubs open a three-game series in Cleveland on Monday. The Guardians are the only opponent with a winning record they will face until Sept. 6.
The Sox, who struck out 13 times, are 63 games under .500 for the first time in franchise history.
