Javier Baez might have made the play of the postseason Wednesday night in San Francisco … if only it went for an out.
The Chicago Cubs second baseman had a ridiculous coming out party during the National League Division Series against the Giants, culminating with him driving in the winning run to clinch the series in Game 4.
In the third inning, though, Baez made a jaw-dropping play to seemingly rob Denard Span of what looked like a sure single. Baez ranged to his right, made a sliding stop and got up to fire a bullet to first base that looked to put out Span by a hair.
Upon further review, however, the umpires ruled Span actually beat the throw.
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Bummer. Even Span couldn’t help but tip his cap.
MLB Statcast’s Daren Willman shared this unbelievable nugget about the play.
Baez was far from done, though.
He aslo made this nifty play on Buster Posey in the seventh inning.
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Not even his gum could elude him, as Baez unknowingly showed off his hands by nabbing a piece of gum before dropping it on the dugout floor.
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As we mentioned, Baez eventually drove in the winning run with a single in the top of the ninth inning. He also played the role of hero in Game 1, homering in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Cubs a 1-0 win.
With the win Wednesday, Chicago advances to the National League Championship Series where it awaits the winner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals, who play Game 5 of their NLDS series Thursday night.
Thumbnail photo via Kelley L Cox/USA TODAY Sports Images
