August 29th, 2016 at 6:10 am 
by Ron Cervenka So many things went right for the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon that led to their exciting 1-0 win over the Chicago Cubs. There was, of course, the brilliant pitching performance by Dodgers rookie right-hander Brock Stewart, who allow no runs and only two hits to the best team in all of baseball while walking two and striking out a career-high eight in his five innings of work. And then there was the unbelievable play by Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who snagged an absolute laser shot off the bat of Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward to end the top of the sixth inning to prevent a sure run; a play that Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully described as “It was like catching an echo! He didn’t even see the ball!”
There were also several lucky breaks that fell the Dodgers way as well, like the pop-up to shallow center field in which second baseman Charlie Culberson did not yield to rookie phenom shortstop Corey Seager that resulted in a collision with the ball popping out of Seager’s glove, only to have the sure-handed NL Rookie of the Year front runner snatch it out of the air with his bare hand.
But when all was said and done, is was a momentary mental lapse by Cubs third baseman Javier Baez that allowed what would be the only run scored in this playoff-like game.
With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning, Cubs right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. induced what should have been an inning-ending grounder to Baez off the bat of Gonzalez. Baez was filling in at third base for 2015 NL Rookie of the Year (and probable 2016 NL MVP) Kris Bryant, who was playing left field for Joe Maddon’s Cubs. But instead of firing across the diamond to nail the uber slow Gonzalez, whom he would have gotten by a good 10 feet, Baez opted to try to force the speedy Corey Seager at second base. Unfortunately for Baez (and the Cubs), second baseman Ben Zobrist – who had been in a modified shift against AGon – was what Scully called “a toenail” too slow to the bag to nail the sliding Seager, who had gotten an outstanding (and game-changing) secondary lead off of first base. As expected, Maddon challenged the extremely close play but second base umpire Alfonso Marquez’s initial safe call was upheld.
“I completely forgot about who was running down the line,” Baez told reporters after the game.
Andrew Toles scored the only run in Sunday’s exciting 1-0 Dodgers win over the NL Central first place Cubs. (Photo credit – Stephen Carr)
Although it was Baez’s miscue that allowed the winning run to score (in the form of the speedy Andrew Toles, who had reached base after being hit by a pitch), Seager gets full credit for his tremendous hustle to beat the play at second base. For those infatuated with sabermetrics, analytics or StatCast numbers, Seager reportedly ran an incredible 19 MPH from first to second to beat Zobrist to the bag.
(Video capture Courtesy of MLB.com StatCast)
“It’s one of those plays where you see Chase (Utley) run hard every time so that’s what you do,” Seager said. “You see him do that over and over again … it rubs off.”
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It was a pretty amazing series. Going into it, one had to figure that the Dodgers needed to win Friday’s game to make it possible for a series win. Saturday was a toss-up, but the Dodgers had to be huge underdogs for Sunday. Urias and Stewart came through big time against the team with the best record in baseball. This was especially true for Stewart who had to face one of the very best LH pitchers in all of baseball, and went toe to toe with him. It’s fun to watch the anti FO people who blasted Andrew and Farhan for bringing Stewart back to face the Cubs, then take credit for how they have supported Brock Stewart all year, and just knew that he was going to come through with a gem.
My favorite line though is, “It’s one of those plays where you see Chase (Utley) run hard every time so that’s what you do,” Seager said. “You see him do that over and over again … it rubs off.” Now the anti FO people who chided them for signing Utley can finally understand just how valuable Chase Utley is in the dugout, and especially as a mentor to Corey Seager. Great game, great series. Even recognizing that LAD needs to find SOMEBODY who can hit LHP, MLB might now come to realize that the Dodgers are indeed serious contenders to reckon with. Keep it going BLUE!!
What a call by umpire Marquez! Perfect positioning. In this case the foot wasn’t quicker than the eye.
Great call by Vin too.
On paper the Cubs are just better than the Dodgers, especially with their starting staff. But, that’s why you play the game. Anything can happen and most often will.
Dodgers were full measure for the win. They kept battling as if it was a playoff game. It certainly had that feeling.
It is indeed surprising that they are in first place after the record number of DL calls that have had. Certainly some credit must be given to Dave Roberts and to the FO for just having enough bodies around and pulling the strings.
I certainly was aware of Chase Utley’s professionalism and the kind of clubhouse guy he would be. I had no idea he would hold up over a full season like he has and contribute with the bat and on the field as he has done.
I was very pleasantly surprised by the brilliant performance of Brock Stewart. I never expected to see that. I felt proud to see Kenley save his second one run lead in two days after having trouble in the first game.
I was also surprise to see the Dodgers win this series against these very heavily favored Cubs.
“uber slow Gonzalez”
Somebody made a similar comment during ST 2015, ended up losing a match race to Gonzo. Y’got your running shoes handy, Ron?
Uber slow > Uber old
Yeah, I learned that the hard way. My step-daughter’s softball team vs. parents. Regulation high school field. I’m 60+. I hit the ball, took off for first base. It was then I discovered they must have doubled the distance between bases, at least, since I last played.