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When the Cardinals decided to intentionally walk Kyle Schwarber to charge the Taylor Davis bases in the fourth inning on Saturday, that seemed self-evident.
St. Louis had just taken a 5-1 lead in the game in the top half of that inning and seemed to want Yu Darvish – and the Cubs – to be on the ropes.
Davis was 0-to-6 on the season going into this bat and was not considered a great home run threat with 0 dingers in his 24 MLB hitters and only 31 long balls over nine seasons of minor leagues. Add to that the wind blowing at Wrigley Field at 8 mph and no one anticipated a grand slam that would match the match in this situation.
Of course, you know where all this is going, even if you have not watched the game or seen the highlights.
Davis hit the first pitch in the left-field bleachers to equalize the game and watched as the Cubs group kept things until Javy Baez's own hero found himself in the end of the eighth inning.
This allowed the Cubs to win their sixth consecutive victory as they improved to 18-12 this season and earned a half-game record against the Cardinals of the division.
"It's so unlikely," said Joe Maddon about Davis's grand slam. "I do not degrade him or anything, he's just improbable, he crushed that ball. [Cardinals pitcher Michael] Wacha has just made a mistake and he does not miss it.
"A very unlikely event, but he's an excellent defensive receiver, he's also played well in the minor leagues and I hope that's one of those things that can really get that guy through on the offensive, but he does a very good job of receiving a match, etc. And then doing that is a long time for him. "
What is even more unlikely about Davis' Arya Stark moment is that this was only his second start since his reminder of Triple-A Iowa on April 12 to replace injured Victor Caratini. Davis had only scored 6 plate matches over a period of more than three weeks before Saturday afternoon.
But Maddon and the Cubs wanted to pair him again with Darvish after the drums worked together last weekend in Arizona. In addition, the Cubs must give Willson Contreras a day off, so Saturday was a time as pleasant as all the others.
The Cubs are in the middle of a 10-game non-stop farm and have only one respite (May 13th) between now and May 30th. Therefore, there is no chance that Contreras will be able to catch every game of this game. In the three weeks following Caratini's injury, the Cubs had so many days off that they were naturally able to keep their star catcher without having to rely heavily on Davis.
Prior to the game, Maddon had talked about the importance of the depth, then watched the little-used backup catcher of the Cubs give his team a thumbs up with the bat against a rival of the division while that. he was more present for his work behind the plate.
"We have depth there and it has been highly touted by the guys from the top," Maddon said. "The analytical guys for years have really enjoyed his job based on how he gets baseball."
Davis said the moment had not yet come for him, but that his phone sounded like a hook after the match and that he was informed that the Cubs could recover baseball for him as a souvenir.
"Incredible," says Darvish. "I was watching from the dugout – it was perfect, it looked like a movie."
Baez finally played the hero alongside Davis as Saturday afternoon turned into a night out, but the Cubs' shutout stalled his receiver more than Davis did.
"I did it myself," Baez said. "I was on third base and as soon as the ball was hit, I knew she was going to leave, the wind was blowing too, it really crushed that bullet." It was a huge moment for him, his family and our teammates. "
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