The Cubs were one out away from a win when Cal Raleigh came to the plate for the Mariners. After a tight at-bat, Raleigh singled on a pitch low and away. Seattle swapped him for Julio Rodríguez at first, aiming to add more speed on the bases. With Luke Raley now hitting, Rodríguez started pushing his lead. The Cubs threw over to check him a couple times but didn’t catch him. Then Rodríguez took one too many steps and got picked off in a close play at first.
Craig Counsell challenged it right away. The umpires went to the replay, which showed three different angles. The key question was whether the tag hit Rodríguez before his hand touched the base. One angle showed the glove crunching right before his hand connected with the bag. From another angle, there appeared to be a slight gap between the glove and his arm just as the tag was applied. The umps decided they saw enough to overturn the call. Rodríguez was ruled out. Cubs escaped with the win, and the crowd erupted, even lifting babies in celebration.