The Cubs can win this four-game series against the Phillies today, which is incredible when you think about how things were looking in the 9th inning of the second game of the series. It felt like the Cubs were about to drop their second straight heartbreaker, and a series split was starting to look like a best-case scenario.
But then the Cubs messed around and started putting together a rally in that second game on Tuesday night.
That led to a tie game, with the bases loaded, and one out. Daniel Descalso was due to hit. Surely he could loft a fly ball or something? The Cubs had a short bench with Javy Baez out, so …
And that’s when Javy Baez, surprisingly emerging from the dugout, did his best Kirk Gibson impression and ambled up to the plate. I had no idea that Baez was going to be available for the game as he recovered from a heel contusion, but we learned after the game that he was preparing all game long, hoping to convince the trainers that he could make an appearance. He did, and he walked it off.
Pretty awesome, right?
Well, it gets even better:
Talking about the Tuesday night walk-off, Javy said he told Strop he was going to end the game and Strop didn't believe him:
"And then everything happened and Stroppy told me, 'I thought I saw everything in baseball, but I've never seen this.' It was a great moment."
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) May 23, 2019
Javy Baez, out with a heel injury, told Pedro Strop before it happened that he was going to come into the game and end it. Unbelievable.
I’m instantly reminded of the time in August when Baez was having a down game, and Strop told him to get his head on straight because he was going to turn things around that night:
Great stuff between Baez and Strop tonight. During the rain delay, Strop got Baez's head straight. After he struck out badly 2 times, Strop told him 'you're going 2 for 4.' And when Baez started to respond, Strop cut him off: "You're going 2 for 4." He then homered and doubled
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) August 7, 2018
Strop to Baez during the rain delay: “I screamed to him. 'Wake up, wake up. We have a game to play.'”
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) August 7, 2018
Man, good things happen when these two guys get together and predict the future, eh? Next up, Baez screaming at Strop every time he takes the mound to tell him that it’s gonna be an inning of three straight strikeouts.