Dansby Swanson Misses First Base To Wipe Away Late Game-Tying RBI For Cubs, Is Baffled By Replay
The Cubs' shortstop went from hero to zero in a hurry.
Dansby Swanson came through in the clutch for the Chicago Cubs in their contest against the Cincinnati Reds, driving in the game-tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning on Monday night, or so he and everyone else in attendance at Wrigley Field thought.
Sitting on a full count with two outs in the frame and a runner on third, Swanson hit a soft chopper down the third-base line and, in real time, appeared to easily beat out the throw to tie the contest at 3-3. The play went under review, and the replay showed that the Cubs' shortstop forgot the most important thing about base running: touching the bag.
Swanson stretched his leg out to beat out the throw, but began the stretch a hair too early, and his lead foot came up short of the bag. He did drag his toes across the base, but not until after the Reds' first baseman had caught the baseball.
Swanson went from being the hero of the day for the Cubs - he hit a two-run home run earlier in the game - to being a punching bag across Monday's action after missing first base in one of the flukier plays you'll ever see.
The 31-year-old explained after the game that he felt he was a bit short of the bag in the moment, but after seeing the replay, who couldn't believe just how short he was.
"I felt like I was a little bit short. I didn’t think I was as short as the replay was," Swanson told reporters.
"I know I touched it at some point, I just didn’t know when in the process. I don’t know if I’ve ever done that in my baseball life, to be honest. Pretty unfortunate timing on the night."
The 3-2 loss on Monday continued the Cubs' up-and-down run coming out of the All-Star break as they've posted an 8-8 record in the second half. The Milwaukee Brewers have since taken over the top spot in the National League Central amid their 7-3 record across their last 10 games.