As important as Addison Russell’s grand slam was, many would argue that the play that keyed the Chicago Cubs’ Game 6 win over the Cleveland Indians and set the tone early was the misplayed fly ball in the first inning that saw confusion reign between center fielder Tyler Naquin and right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall.
Nobody was entirely sure what happened on the play. That includes the two defenders involved, as well as their manager Terry Francona, all of whom had different stories as to how the ball somehow dropped.
Chisenhall: "Nobody said anything."
Naquin: "We [both] definitely called for it.”
Francona: "Naquin was yelling 'It's yours. You got it.'"— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) November 2, 2016
While we can’t know for sure what happened, plays like that are usually the center fielder’s. Whatever the case, the play made the first inning bigger than it needed to be and opened the door for the Cubs to put Game 6 out of reach early. Now they’re feeling confident, and the pressure is on entering Wednesday night’s Game 7.
