Kyle Schwarber is really taking to this leadoff hitter thing, eh?
Sensing a positional opportunity after the Cubs had already gone down 2-0 in the top of the first inning (thanks to a Ryan Braun homer, of course), Schwarber squared up to lay down a bunt.
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It was a great idea, but he got it a little too close to the third base line, and the spin of those ones basically always takes them foul. This one, however, had a little bit of magic english on it:
Beat the shift. pic.twitter.com/eqJXIOr1bI
— MLB (@MLB) April 18, 2017
I just don’t see how that ball stayed fair, especially after it fell off the lip of the grass. Those never stay fair!
I think the answer, clearly, is that Schwarber is just that good. He would later score on a Ben Zobrist single, because, as I said, he’s clearly taken to this leadoff hitter thing.
Also, not his first bunt for a hit!
UPDATE: Anthony Rizzo later pulled off the same bunt against the shift (slightly less magical), and the Cubs dropped a fantastic tweet/GIF combo:
The #NeverBunt crowd is awfully silent tonight… pic.twitter.com/Vi9Fn5RHQd
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 18, 2017
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For the record, I am firmly a #NeverBunt’er, but I adopted that phrase in the context of virtually* all sac bunts. Bunting for a hit, especially against the shift, is all good by me.
I guess that makes me a #SometimesBunt’er.
*(Exceptions made for the bottom of the potential final inning, with a runner on second and nobody out. For me, that’s it.)
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