The Cubs don’t really have any margin for error as they seek a wild-card berth in the season’s home stretch.
And, unfortunately, it was a fielding error that helped lead to the team’s 9-8 loss to the Guardians in the series opener in Cleveland.
Oh, yes, and an egregiously bad umpiring call that might have changed the course of the game.
I’ll get to all that, but let’s begin at the beginning.
The game went scoreless through two innings, with Shu014dta Imanaga retiring the first six Guardians hitters. The Cubs had a pair of runners on base via walks in the second with one out, but could not score.