Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/16/20): Cubs 3, Indians 2 – El Mago Waves Magic Wand to Walk Off in 10

It was starting to look like another wasted opportunity in a season of wasted opportunities with the bases loaded for the Cubs. But Javier Báez had other ideas, taking advantage of the juiced bases in the 10th to deliver a game-winning hit that gave the Cubs a 3-2 win over the Indians.

The Cubs were able to answer a 1st inning Tribe run in the bottom of the 2nd when Kyle Schwarber walked to open the frame, advanced to third on a Báez single, and ultimately scored on a Jason Heyward bloop into center. They were able to add another off Indians starter Aaron Civale in the 4th when Cameron Maybin scored Báez on an infield grounder.

Cubs starter Jon Lester coughed up a gopher ball to Oscar Mercado to knot things up 2-2, but finished the 5th without further incident. Both clubs showed some serious juice coming out of the pens as scoring ground to a halt. The Cubs used five different arms to cover five innings and each came up large in this one.

Jason Adam was able to fan Lindor with two on and two outs in the top of the 10th, then the Cubs parlayed the ghost runner on second to their advantage yet again this season. Kris Bryant singled and Anthony Rizzo was intentionally walked to load the bases, after which both Willson Contreras and Schwarber were retired quickly. Enter El Mago, who twirled his bat above his head and pulled an outside pitch to left for a clean single. (Box score)

Key Moment

Down 0-2, Báez hooked a breaking ball from Phil Maton into left field to win it.

Why the Cubs Won

Great pitching and a little dash of magic from El Mago. Lester was good, Javy was magical, and the bullpen was even better.

Stats That Matter

• Lester’s line: 5 IP, 4H, 2 ER; Cubs Bullpen: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R
• Maybin continues to be a solid pickup, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
• Báez might just be coming out of that slump, going 2-for-5 with a huge run and RBI.

Bottom Line

The Cubs swept the two game series against the Indians and get to enjoy the second off day of the week. They sit at 30-20 on the season with a 5.5 game lead over both the Reds and Cards in the Central.

On Deck

The Cubs will enjoy their last scheduled off day Thursday before hosting the Twins for the last regular season home series of 2020. Kyle Hendricks takes the ball as old pal Rich Hill goes for Minnesota. Game time is 7:15pm CT and can be seen on Marquee and heard on 670 The Score.