The Cubs had a chance to break things open in the second inning with the bases loaded and one out, but it fell apart fast. The pitcher came up and tried to bunt, but couldn’t get it down. Javy Báez, running from third, had already taken his lead and got caught in a rundown. Willson Contreras, seeing the chaos, took off from second, trying to make something happen, but ended up thrown out too. He claimed he was safe and signaled for a replay, pointing to his elbow and saying he got in under the tag.
The replay looked close. Contreras’s hand appeared to touch the base before the glove made contact. There was space between him and the tag at first, and it didn’t look like the fielder had him right away. But Joe Maddon didn’t challenge the call. Maybe he thought the play was too close or just wanted his guys to take responsibility for the mess. Either way, the Cubs lost a promising scoring opportunity. Even McCann seemed surprised by the whole thing, joking with the ump after the dust settled.