As a general rule, weird breaks and coincidences have gone against the Chicago Cubs, but on Thursday afternoon, a strange occurrence involving Matt Szczur and St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina went in favor of the boys in blue.
The play, which occurred in the seventh inning of the contest, came with the Cubs down by a pair of runs and needing a rally. Szczur, pinch-hitting for pitcher John Lackey, swung and missed at strike three from Brett Cecil, but the ball hit the ground before reaching Molina, so the outfielder took off for first base.
That’s where things got downright bizarre:
Rather than staying on the ground, the ball actually stuck to the bottom of Molina’s chest protector, and the catcher couldn’t find it as Szczur reached first base safely.
That ended up costing the Cardinals dearly, as the Cubs would go on to stage a rally to take the lead and ultimately seize control of the game. Jon Jay coaxed a walk against Cecil in the next plate appearance, and Kyle Schwarber blasted a long three run home run to give the Cubs the lead, which they would never relinquish as they took two of three games from the Cardinals.
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The Cubs will next be in action on Friday night when they travel to Milwaukee to begin a three game series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.
