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Chicago Cubs Avoid St. Louis Sweep

Written by: EricC on 21st September 2009

The game looked like it was over for the Chicago Cubs and they had just been swept by the St. Louis Cardinals. 3-3 in the Bottom of the Ninth and the Cardinals had the bases loaded. St. Louis hits a grounder to second base; Andres Blanco grabs it and tosses it to Ryan Theriot; Theriot tags the bag and makes a throw to Derrek Lee at first; Lee, who is off the bag, makes a reach for the hitter running to first, but is called unsuccessful. Game Over.

Not Quite!

Second Base Umpire (Marty Foster) Shows La Russa the Slide Mark from Holiday

(Courtesy of the Cubs Website)

The second base umpire calls a double play, but not because of Derrek Lee's stretch. Upon reviewing the play, Matt Holiday, who was making the run from first to second, comes off the baseline, and heads right into Theriot, slightly clipping his leg as he makes the throw to Lee. Leaving the baseline results in two outs, which is exactly what the Cubs needed to put the game into Extra Innings.

After a scoreless 10th inning, Jake Fox hit a two-run homer in the top of the 11th to give the Cubs a 6-3 lead on the Cardinals. Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless bottom of the 11th to help the Cubs avoid being swept by the Cardinals in their final match-up of the season.