It was only last night when it looked as though the Chicago Cubs' hopes of making it to the playoffs were renewed what with the Atlanta Braves losing some ground in the NL Wild Card race after losing three out of four to the Philadelphia Phillies. However, their heartbreaking 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night is such a huge setback and could, in fact, be a major portent of a disaster that is to come.
As pointed out by OptaSTATS on X, formerly known as Twitter, tonight was the first time in nearly 21 years that the Cubs were up 3-0 (or better) in the eighth inning or later “only to blow the lead all in one inning and lose the game”. The last time that happened was on October 14, 2003, during the fateful Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS wherein the Cubs blew a 3-0 lead that they had entering the eighth inning, allowing eight runs to cross the plate to lose 8-3 in the end.
No Cubs fan would ever forget the Steve Bartman incident. But to younger fans who were not able to witness perhaps the most gut-wrenching moment in Cubs history, this was how things played out. With one out and one runner on second base in the eighth inning and starter Mark Prior still on the mound, Marlins' Luis Castillo hit a weak fly ball to playable foul territory along in left field, with Moises Alou giving chase.
Alou seemed to be tracking the ball nicely. But instead of making a clean catch for the second out of the inning, a fan by the name of Steve Bartman interfered with the play and took the ball with him in the stands. Alou was visibly upset, and for good reason. Instead of having two outs in the inning, Prior proceeded to allow a walk to Castillo, giving the Marlins two runners on base with only one out, and the floodgates began to open for the eventual World Series champion.
The most heartbreaking part of this play for the Cubs is that they seemed to be on their way back to the World Series — putting them one step closer to breaking the Curse of the Billy Goat. But the Marlins' rally in Game 6 turned momentum completely in their favor, and the Cubs had to wait 13 more years for their breakthrough.
As scary of an omen as the Cubs' Monday night meltdown against the Pirates may be, they still remain within striking distance of the third NL Wild Card spot, as they remain only 3.5 games behind the Braves.
Cubs melt down in spectacular fashion vs. the Pirates
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New York Mets fans will be feeling some special kind of schadenfreude after witnessing Jorge Lopez, the man who ended his stint with the team unceremoniously, blow the game for the Cubs on Monday. The Mets, along with the Braves, are the Cubs' closest competitors for the third Wild Card spot, and things could not have worked out much better for them tonight.
Lopez's eighth-inning appearance already did not start off on the right foot. He allowed two consecutive singles, with one of those not leaving the infield, which then brought Bryan Reynolds, the Pirates' leader in home runs, to the plate. Reynolds promptly went deep to tie the game, and then veteran Andrew McCutchen came up huge with a go-ahead solo shot two at-bats later.
It was a heartbreaking end to a solid start from Jameson Taillon, who pitched seven scoreless innings as he allowed only three hits on the night.
