Dissecting an inning of errors, a dropped pop-up and benches clearing

CHICAGO -- The inning started with a Daniel Vogelbach triple, the first of his career. Then things started to get really weird.

When the on field scuffle and defensive miscues of fourth inning were finally over, the Cubs were well on their way to beating the Pirates, 7-0, at Wrigley Field Tuesday.

Perhaps it could have all been avoided if Vogelbach was safe at home. Yoshi Tsutsugo followed Vogelbach's triple with a pop fly to right, and since there was already one out, third baes coach Mike Rabelo waved Vogelbach.

He was thrown out by several feet, and before getting back up, Vogelbach threw the mask that was pressed against his side. Contreras did not respond well to that.

Words were exchanged, benches cleared and bullpens ran in, but nothing came of it.

"I guess he thought I was upset at him," Vogelbach said of the play. "I slid in. His mask went in my side. Just doesn’t feel good when a mask goes in your side, so I threw it away more than anything to get it away from me. I think he thought I was upset with him, I’m not really sure. That’s about it from my side."

"He kind of surprise me, to be honest," Contreras told Cubs reporters. "Vogey and I played together for a lot of years in the minor leagues. I put the tag on him and was just basically checking on him. He overreacted. He kind of surprised me a lot. It is what it is. The only thing I said was, 'Don’t do that to me. We played together.' At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. We won the ballgame and they got shut out."

It's the second straight game the Pirates have been shut out in. By that point they were already down a run, but it was the home half of the inning that put the game out of reach.

After Rodolfo Castro made a throwing error on a Contreras grounder to start the inning, Happ followed with a pop fly that third baseman Michael Chavis let drop to the ground. Chavis said afterwards it was "an opinion thing" of if it should have been him or the shortstop Castro who made the play. 

"I think that’s one of those situations where you get guys who haven’t played much together," Chavis said. "There’s gonna be a little bit of a miscommunication, not really knowing each other’s tendencies. As the older guy, I probably should have communicated better and taken control."

Chavis had a chance to still get Contreras on the force at second, but he admitted he was confused after the drop was and thought he needed to cover third. Contreras slid in without a throw, giving the Cubs two on instead of two outs.

JT Brubaker finally gave in with a pair of doubles to plate three, a failed double-play ball for another and one more coming home because Yoshi Tsutsugo opted to run and dive to first base to try to beat a bang-bang play at the bag, rather than just toss it to the pitcher covering.

In case you need that all broken down again:

In total, five runs came home in what originally looked like a breakthrough inning for the Pirates, who dropped their second straight here in Chicago.

"He threw really well and we just didn't help him out," Derek Shelton said. "We have to play better defense."

And losing momentum like that?

"It sucked," Chavis said. "It definitely sucked. Right after the thing with Vogey at home plate, guys were excited, which is fine. Guys get excited. It’s good for the game. I felt like that was just kind of a change of pace for us."

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Brubaker deserved better this game.

Saying postgame that he finally felt stronger after battling an illness the first time the Pirates came to Wrigley Field last week, his slider was working Tuesday night, resulting in a career-high 10 strikeouts. 

Cubs batters swung 22 against his slider, and whiffed 16 times.

"Finally felt like I was getting back to where I was in spring training," Brubaker said. "Strength, energy, everything was clicking on time. It felt like it was all back."

Here is where his 40 sliders were located and the result of each pitch:

Unfortunately for Brubaker, that fourth inning happened. His only other blemish on the game was a 371-foot Jonathan Villar solo home run in the third that just snuck over the wall in left-center.

Don't put too much stock into his line of 5 2/3 innings, six hits, six runs (four earned) and three walks. He pitched much better than that would indicate, and his line would be a lot better if his infielders converted their chances in the fourth.

"He shoved," Chavis said. "As soon as I saw Shelty coming out to pull him, you feel bad. You see the dude throw so well, you want him to have good results. It was just kind of unlucky. He looked great. Just sucks."

• The Pirates have scored just one run over the last three games, which itself came in a no-hitter Sunday. 

I asked Shelton postgame what can be done offensively.

"We have to find ways to create scoring opportunities and that's the thing," he said. "We've gotten down the last few days big and we can't even do anything because of the fact that we're down. But we got to figure out how to have better at-bats and we have to figure out ways to get scoring opportunities. We got to get some guys going."

"Going through a little stretch right here, but all it takes is a week of hot stretch to get right back on track," Vogelbach said.

• A couple guys who are still scuffling in particular: Bryan Reynolds and Tsutsugo. Reynolds snapped an 0-for-20 streak with a first inning single, his only time on base in his four trips to the plate Tuesday. Tsutsugo went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts.

On the year, Reynolds is now slashing .203/.300/.341, and Tsutsugo is slashing .174/.279/.228.

Before the game, Shelton commented that he thought Reynolds was looking for something that felt right at the plate and Tsutsugo had been taking better swings over the past few days. Postgame, he wasn't pushing the panic button yet either.

"We're still early in the season," Shelton said. "We're still mid-May. So there's a lot of time left, but it is important that we get guys going."

• Kevin Newman (groin) started a rehab assignment with Class AAA Indianapolis Tuesday. He went 0-for-2 with a walk.

• This was the 30th time since the start of the 2021 season where the Pirates have lost by at least six runs. That's 15% of their games played. It's the fifth time in 11 days they've lost by at least half a dozen.

• Chronicling the Vogelbach triple for future generations:

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 10-day injured list: OF Jake Marisnick (thumb), SS Kevin Newman (groin)

• 60-day injured list: OF Greg Allen (hamstring), RHP Blake Cederlind (UCL), RHP Nick Mears (elbow surgery), Roberto Pérez (hamstring)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Josh VanMeter, 2B
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Ben Gamel, LF
4. Daniel Vogelbach, DH
5. Yoshi Tsutsugo, 1B
6. Michael Chavis, 3B
7. Rodolfo Castro, SS
8. Michael Perez, C
9. Jack Suwinski, RF

And for David Ross' crew:

1. Rafael Ortega, CF
2. Willson Contreras, C
3. Ian Happ, LF
4. Seiya Suzuki, RF
5. Alfonso Rivas, 1B
6. Frank Schwindel, DH
7. Patrick Wisdom, 3B
8. Jonathan Villar, 2B
9. Ildemaro Vargas, SS

THE SCHEDULE

This series will conclude with another 7:40 p.m. Eastern first pitch. The Pirates have not announced a starter. It's Mitch Keller's turn in the rotation, though he could appear as a reliever instead. Drew Smyly (1-4, 3.64) will start for the Cubs.

THE CONTENT

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