The Reds did not have a great inning on the infield there as the Cubs took an early 2-0 lead. You had “shortstop” Eugenio Suarez throwing one away, and also coming up short on an infield single. Then there was the big oops in failing to cover first base on a bunt.
The throwaway, which set everything up, came when he had Willson Contreras dead to rights between second and third:
Just another day of causing defensive miscues pic.twitter.com/quHw4HQit1
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 29, 2021
You may recall that Suarez was converted to shortstop this year from third base, and, were I to judge solely on the basis of one inning, it isn’t working!
Then, with runners at the corners and one out, pitcher Zach Davies squared up to bunt. Safety squeeze time, right? Well, yeah, except the Reds, you know, kinda forgot about the part where SOMEONE has to cover first base. Oops:
It goes down as an RBI single for Davies in the books. Who says pitchers can’t hit?
I think second baseman Jonathan India was trying to preserve the double play chance, but that was clearly a mistake. I guess pitcher Luis Castillo also could’ve covered first, but typically, when the first baseman is crashing like that on a sure bunt, the pitcher is also protecting against a bunt up the middle, and the second baseman wheels over to first.
Obligatory mention of the bonus mistake at the end, with Eric Sogard thinking he was gonna pull a Javy Báez and get all the way from first to third on a bunt.
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