Craig Counsell was ejected after umpires ruled two outs on a bizarre double-play moment in the Cubs’ 9-3 win over the Rockies, with Counsell saying “umpires cost you two outs.” The play involved a foul ball that appeared to take off Moises Ballesteros’ foot be
DENVER — Nico Hoerner didn’t move from first base because Moises Ballesteros hit a foul ball.
That was the only explanation the players seemed to understand on the field, and the replay reinforced it: a foul ball going off Ballesteros’ foot.
Then. in the sixth inning of the Cubs’ 9-3 win over the Rockies on Thursday. the foul ball ended up fueling a double play. The Rockies picked up the ball and threw to second, then first, with no Cubs player moving. The umpires called a pair of outs. and the Cubs went from a scoring chance to their last out of the inning in an instant.
Craig Counsell didn’t let it slide. He came out to voice his discontent. The umpires huddled, but there was no change in the outcome of the play, which was not reviewable—meaning Counsell couldn’t challenge.
After the double play stood, the frustration kept building. Counsell let the umpires know again and eventually earned his second ejection of the season, a moment that delighted both the Cubs and Rockies fans in attendance.
“When umpires cost you two outs, that’s a big deal. That’s an inning, an inning over,” Counsell said after the game. “They didn’t see it. I don’t think you ever really see some of those plays. Like a hit by pitch, you don’t necessarily see it.
“But when the player reaction on the field – every player’s reaction on the field – is very obvious, that’s what they go on in those situations. I thought player reaction on the field was very obvious, and I was shocked when they got together that they didn’t think it was.”
In the end, the moment didn’t decide the game. The Cubs held a 6-2 lead at the time and went on to win by six runs.
Still, it didn’t make it any less bizarre—or any less important to Counsell and the Cubs—once it happened.
Cabrera bounces back
For the Cubs, the day offered more than just a rules argument. They also got a meaningful response from Edward Cabrera.
The right-handed pitcher hasn’t been the version the Cubs expected when they traded for him last offseason. A season ago with the Marlins. Cabrera posted a 3.53 ERA. and the Cubs surrendered top prospect Owen Caissie to bring him in with the belief he could become a top-of-the-rotation arm for years.
That hasn’t fully matched expectations yet. But Thursday’s start looked like a step in the right direction.
Cabrera had bounced back from his previous outing, a brutal start in which he gave up eight runs and three homers in his return from a stay on the injured list. This time, he held the Rockies to just two runs.
Those two runs came on a pair of solo homers. and the Cubs’ worst-in-baseball total in that department is up to 102. Even with that blemish. the outing still represented progress for a pitcher and a staff that are trying to find the kind of contributions that can dramatically boost an injury-plagued rotation.
Cabrera’s two-run performance was also his first such outing since his second start of the season on April 5, when he allowed fewer than three runs in an outing.
“This is obviously a tough place to pitch, and he was really effective today,” Counsell said. “It was a good bounce back to give him some confidence moving forward.
“He had some situations where I thought he lost it a little bit – just a very little bit, just five or six pitches – then came back and made some really good pitches. That’s part of pitching, and that’s part of having a good start.”
Cubs Rockies Craig Counsell Edward Cabrera Owen Caissie Nico Hoerner Moises Ballesteros ejection double play MLB