Cubs Rally And Win After Possibly Catching The Cardinals Cheating

The Chicago Cubs were trailing 4-2 in the top of the seventh inning, when Matt Szczur struck out swinging to begin the comeback against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday. On the swing and miss, Yadier Molina couldn't locate the ball in the dirt because the ball wasn't on the ground at all. Thanks to some sort of substance, most likely pine tar, the ball got stuck to Molina's chest protector and by the time the catcher realized what had happened, Szczur was safe at first base. A few batters later, the Cubs were up 5-4. So, why did that ball stick to Molina? There's no doubt there was something fishy about the play, but did the Cubs actually catch the Cardinals cheating? Let's take a look.

Did the #Cubs just catch the #Cardinals cheating? What's on that chest protector, Yadi? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/RQJVwNaa1Q

— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) April 6, 2017

As much as I want to jump down the Cardinals throats here, the most likely outcome is that nothing illegal was actually done. Yes, you can see a brown smudge on Molina's chest protector, but this has happened before and it's pretty much accepted in MLB. For example, during the 2015 World Seres between the Royals and Mets, Salvador Perez had pine tar on his shin guard and nothing was really made of it by the Mets. The argument being that catchers need it for better grip, especially during cold games. Anyway, if Joe Maddon thought something was illegal he would've said something. So, unless Cardinals pitcher Brett Cecil was using pine tar, there's no controversy here. However, that doesn't mean this wasn't absolutely hilarious because after Szczur reached, Jon Jay walked and then Kyle Schwarber ripped the hearts out of Cardinals fans...again.

The Cubs added another run later in the seventh to make it 6-4. Hector Rondon pitched a perfect inning and then Carl Edwards Jr. bailed out Pedro Strop in the eighth. Edwards came in with two runners on and one out, but got out of the jam by striking out Randal Grichuk and Jedd Gyorko. Wade Davis gave up a double in the ninth, but worked around it to pick up his second save of the year. A nice little series win to open up the 2017 season for the World Champs. Oh, by the way, if a Cardinals fan ever tells you how bad Kyle Schwarber is as an outfielder, which he isn't really, just show them this to shut them up.