Tyler Stephenson left his fundamentals at home on Thursday.
The Cincinnati Reds catcher Stephenson committed the dumbest blunder of the season during his team’s game against the Chicago Cubs. In the fourth inning at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Ill., the Cubs had the bases loaded with nobody out.
Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson then bounced a grounder to the left side, which was fielded by Reds third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. After stepping on third to record one out, Hayes fired the ball to his teammate Stephenson behind the plate.
Inexplicably though, Stephenson failed to tag the runner coming home (Chicago’s Ian Happ). As a result of the play no longer being a force out (due to Hayes recording the out at third), Happ scored a run on the play.
The howler by the 29-year-old Stephenson gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead, and they would eventually beat the Reds by a final score of 8-3. Here is the video of the boneheaded moment.
This just can’t happen in the big leagues, man. pic.twitter.com/XKKszGAJTi
— Reds Daily (@RedsDaily4) May 7, 2026
Even if Stephenson forgot about the force rule, it should be automatic for an MLB catcher to tag the runner there in addition to stepping on the plate. Instead though, Stephenson goofed and gave away a free run to the Cubs (who are usually the ones committing defensive miscues themselves).
