The Cubs Scored An Improbable Run Because The Pirates Forgot How Baseball Works

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a really bad baseball team. Having said this, you would think some pretty basic stuff would be doable for even the worst of professional baseball teams, but on Thursday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs, we learned that this is not necessarily the case, at least when it comes to the Buccos.

Cubs shortstop Javier Baez stepped to the plate with two outs (I cannot stress enough how important it is that you remember this detail) and Wilson Contreras on second base while Chicago boasted a 1-0 lead. Baez took the offering from Tyler Anderson on an 0-2 count and hit a ground ball to third base. And then, a series of events so weird that I can honestly say I have never seen it happen before occurred. Behold:

This is remarkable, to the point that one has to wonder if the Cubs have ever straight up practiced having Baez do this or if Baez has ever thought about it in the game. Realizing that first baseman Will Craig did not step on the bag, Baez starts running back home, giving Contreras time to score. Craig made the mistake of trying to get Contreras out, leaving first base totally free for Baez, who then gets to second on a scoring error. Truly, it is incredible.

And to go back to that original detail we wanted you to remember: THERE WERE TWO OUTS. Craig just steps on first and the inning is over. Instead, this.