Although things went terribly for the Cubs almost immediately after Kyle Schwarber’s first inning home run last night, I didn’t feel like they were totally out-of-it until after the sixth.
But once the Dodgers took a 4-1 lead and subbed Yu Darvish out for a well-rested, lights-out bullpen, well, it was difficult to generate anything close to a smile or a high-five. When the Dodgers added two more in the eighth, padding their lead to five runs, I was downright depressed.
Thankfully, before the night was over, the Cubs reminded us that baseball’s supposed to be fun, and we’re not supposed to be depressed while watching it, no matter how bad things get on the scoreboard.
So sit back and watch as Kyle Schwarber cuts down Yasiel Puig at second base after Puig laced a would-be double off the wall. And then watch Baez plant a great tag on Puig’s chest and follow it up with, arguably, one of the most memorable Cubs moments this October:
OH YEAH, BABY. That’s the good stuff.
Let’s see that throw and tag again:
After Kyle Schwarber throw out Puig, Javier Baez did a ” no no no” to Puig after tagging him out 😂😂😂
— Baseball King™ (@BasebaIlKing) October 18, 2017
That was a wonderfully strong and accurate throw from Kyle Schwarber, who fielded it cleanly off the wall and continues to show off his excellent arm strength in left field. And then there’s the Baez tag plus bonus finger wag in Puig’s face:
When you're thinking about reading the mentions: pic.twitter.com/jQRCOe0Qb5
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) October 18, 2017
Puig, for what it’s worth, was an excellent sport (hard not to be when your about to be up 3-0 in the NLCS), and smiled back at Javy, knowing that he got got. It’s far from a comeback win, but it returned a smile to my face, if not for just a single fleeting moment.