(Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
Thursday night’s Chicago Cubs game against the Pittsburgh Pirates was a perfect illustration of why these two teams are where they are.
Some foreshadowing of the type of game it was going to be occurred in the bottom half of the first inning. With Pittsburgh leading 3-0 Rafael Ortega singled and then went to second on a throwing error by the Pirates Wilmer Difo. That alone is not surprising, but the error occurred after the play was over. This guy was routinely throwing the ball to his pitcher.
It took a bad throw by Difo, a lackadaisical effort from his pitcher Mitch Keller, and complete inattention by Pittsburgh’s catcher, Jacob Stallings, to get Ortega to second.