The look on the Chicago Cubs’ on-deck hitter, Pete Crow-Armstrong, said it all after Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson made a mistake that should only happen in Little League.
Up 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning with the bases loaded with no outs, Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson hit a ground ball to Reds third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. With the ball hit close to the third base bag, Hayes did what he was supposed to do. He stepped on third and rifled a throw home to easily get Cubs runner Ian Happ out at the plate.
There was just one problem. Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson didn’t tag Happ. Instead, he just stepped on home plate, thinking it was a force out. It wasn’t. Once Hayes stepped on third base, Happ no longer had to run home, so the only way to get him out would be to tag him.
The Cincinnati Reds’ broadcasters were apoplectic
The Cincinnati Reds broadcast booth reacted the way fans do when their team makes an inexcusable mistake after falling from first place in the division to last place in a span of just six days, as the Reds have done.
“Bounced to third, handled by Hayes,” Reds announcer John Sadak said as the ball was hit by Swanson. “It’s a tag at the plate! He’s gotta tag him! He’s safe!”
“No!” his cohort in the booth, Chris Welsh, shouted. “No! No!”
“Hayes hit the bag, and Stephenson didn’t realize there was no force at the plate!” Sadak continued. “He stepped on the plate, thinking he could force out Ian Happ! But he scores, because there was a tag play!”
“Oh! This is a middle school mistake right here,” Welsh added. “You have to pay attention to what’s going on ahead of you. Stephenson did not see the force play at third base. Once Hayes steps on the bag, the force is relieved. You have to tag the runner!”
After the game, which the Cubs won 8-3 to complete a four-game sweep of the Reds, Tyler Stephenson admitted he made a mistake.
“I kind of got the back end of it, and that’s just a mistake on my end knowing that I have to tag him in that situation and (it’s) a fast-developing play,” Stephenson told MLB.com.
The Reds, who have now lost eight of their last nine games, now trail the Cubs by six games in the National League Central. They now take on the Astros at home on Friday as the start of a three-game series against Houston.