Yu Darvish got in a little trouble in the third, with a leadoff double and then a single allowed. Runners at the corners, nobody out, and Whit Merrifield up. Not ideal.
Darvish got Merrifield to bounce one up the middle, and I was momentarily stoked that Darvish was going to glove it and perhaps cut down the lead runner. But the ball bounced off of Darvish’s glove, and I was momentarily bummed that if he just hadn’t touched it at all, it would’ve been an easy double play.
… that’s where David Bote came in to make it a fantastic double play:
More slick defense from @DavidBote13! pic.twitter.com/8E9BJiUZol
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 6, 2020
As I was watching, I just thought he was only able to get the out at first. But Bote coordinated his body – El Mago style – to stick on second base as he fielded the ball off of Darvish’s glove. What a play.
David Bote is just killing it on defense right now.