Tuesday’s game was a gut punch of epic proportions as a toxic combination of physical, mental, and tactical errors poisoned the Cubs’ 6-0 lead and saw them fall unceremoniously to the Braves. No single decision or play determined the game, though Seiya Suzuki‘s dropped fly ball in the 8th inning has a gaudy neon sign posted above it that obscures a multitude of issues leading to that point.
Drew Smyly walked two batters and threw two wild pitches to put runners on second and third ahead of the error. The lefty threw at least five pitches Yan Gomes had to block, and it looked more than once like one of them could have squirted through for a run.