Watch: Javy Baez Bases-Clearing Double Highlights Crazy Comeback
The Cubs were down 10-2 at one point Saturday afternoon and they entered the 8th inning down five runs. They ended the frame up too many runs to allow Brandon Morrow the opportunity to notch a save. And they scored all those runs with two outs.
It was an insane game, played in conditions that might have merited a postponement under other circumstances. The cold and rain appeared to be affecting the Cubs to a much greater extent than the Braves, but things flipped pretty quickly.
Jason Heyward got on the hard way to lead off the 8th, taking a pitch to the knee to put a man on. Kyle Schwarber struck out, then Tommy La Stella singled after running the count full. Efren Navarro struck out and it looked as though the Cubs would fizzle again.
But then Kris Bryant got hit by his league-leading fifth pitch and jogged to first to push his OBP to .493 on the season. Willson Contreras singled to score Heyward and Ben Zobrist drew a four-pitch walk to push another run across and push the Cubs to within three.
Ednel Javier Baez has been an absolute monster over the last week and he put together a fantastic at-bat, running the count full and staying within himself. Everyone in the ballpark expected El Mago to swing out of his shoes, but he turned on an outside fastball and drove it into the left-center gap. The slick conditions may have helped the hit, which scooted through the grass and all the way to the wall to score all three runners.
Addison Russell was intentionally walked and the next three batters — Heyward, Schwarber, and La Stella — were unintentionally walked. Navarro would strike out to end the rampage, but not before a wild pitch and terrible throws by nearly every Braves position player allowed Heyward and Schwarber to score.
In all, 13 Cubs stepped to the plate and saw 51 pitches, scoring nine runs on three hits, five walks, two hit by pitches, and a pair of errors. Wow.
When you complete an insane comeback after trailing 10-2 in the sixth inning. pic.twitter.com/Z3tjFFKhx3
— Cubs Insider (@realcubsinsider) April 14, 2018