Chicago Cubs: Most gut-wrenching losses of the Maddon era

Chicago Cubs: The save may have been blown, but was it Craig Kimbrel’s fault?

7-3-19. Clinging to a 5-4 lead in the ninth the Cubs were just a few outs away from a victory with Craig Kimbrel on the mound. Seemed pretty safe. Unfortunately things went awry with some very sloppy defense.

It all started with a fly ball to Willson Contreras (playing in right) that bounced off this glove and hit the ground. Ruled a double, but still a very catchable ball. With runners on second and third with one out, a groundball off the bat of Adam Frazier went to Addison Russell who was playing back on the infield. Russell decided to throw home but the runner scored easily to tie the game. It all ended immediately after that as Corey Dickerson hit a sac-fly to win it. Cubs lose 6-5.

In the postgame presser, Russell said, “I don’t regret my decision going home.” This stirred up a lot of anger and confusion from the fanbase. Yes the game would have been tied, but there would have been two outs and a chance to force extras had he gotten the sure out at first.