Patrick Wisdom, Frank Schwindel make Cubs history in win over Arizona
Patrick Wisdom thought he had sparked some momentum.
He ripped an Ian Kennedy cutter down the third base line that seemed to give the Cubs a leadoff runner in the bottom of the 8th with the team trailing by a run.
Only the ball was ruled foul.
“I thought so from my angle,” Wisdom said when asked if he thought it was fair.
It was one of those bang-bang plays down the line that can define a ball game.
“[Third base coach] Willie [Harris’] usually got a pretty good idea and he just kinda raised his eyebrows saying it was pretty close,” manager David Ross said.
Wisdom made sure to leave no doubt on the next pitch.
He crushed another cutter — this one a little off the edge of the plate — sending a 106.7 mph liner into the left-center field bleachers to tie the game.
Then, Frank Schwindel rode that wave, hitting a homer of his own two pitches later that sparked the Cubs to a 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks.
It was the second straight day Wisdom and Schwindel had hit back-to-back home runs. They’re the first Cubs teammates to hit back-to-back home runs in back-to-back games since Ernie Banks and Jim Hickman did it in 1969.
“I was riding the momentum right there, but that I think that was the intent on the swing,” Schwindel said. “Worked out today, worked out yesterday. Just a lot of fun when we can do that.”
That ball down the line ended up being a moot point. But it ended up being a curious case of “what if?” after the game.
“I mean Frank hit a home run right after that so it woulda been a 2-run home run,” Ross said with a hearty laugh.