“There’s something out there in the Pirate bullpen. These guys have all caught the virus.”

That description from Jim Deshaies on the Marquee Sports Network broadcast perfectly encapsulated the moment.

The top of the 5th inning of Saturday’s Cubs-Pirates game was truly one-of-a-kind.

We’ve never seen anything like it in Cubs franchise history and the last time any team in Major League Baseball pulled it off, the year was 1959 — 10 years before a human walked on the moon.

The Cubs entered the frame losing by a score of 6-1. By the time the game moved to the bottom half of the 5th, the Cubs had taken an 8-6 lead — despite only collecting 3 hits in the inning.

That’s because the Cubs drew 6 — 6! — bases loaded walks in the 5th inning as part of one of the wackiest comebacks ever.

To get an idea of how rare the inning was, it has never happened before in Cubs history:

The Cubs drew 6 bases-loaded walks in one inning for the first time in Cubs history. h/t Cubs historian Ed Hartig.

— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) May 12, 2024

In fact, the last time a team notched at least 6 bases loaded walks in the same inning was also a Chicago team — the White Sox pulled it off at the Kansas City A’s on April 22, 1959:

the Cubs’ 6 bases-loaded walks in the 5th were the most by a team in an inning since the White Sox had 8 in the 7th inning on 4/22/1959

h/t @EliasSports

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 12, 2024

Here’s the full breakdown of the inning:

—Mike Tauchman led off with a double
—Seiya Suzuki reached on an infield single
—Cody Bellinger struck out
—Christopher Morel struck out
—Ian Happ was hit by a pitch
—Nico Hoerner walked, scoring a run
—Michael Busch walked, scoring a run
—Miles Mastrobuoni walked, scoring a run
—Yan Gomes walked, scoring a run
—Tauchman reached on an infield single, scoring a run
—Suzuki walked, scoring a run
—Bellinger walked, scoring a run
—Nick Madrigal flied out to center

Four different Pirates pitchers threw in the frame and each new guy that came in to relieve wound up with major control issues.

Oh and to add to one of the wackiest innings we’ve ever seen in baseball history, there was a 2-hour, 20-minute rain delay thrown in the middle of the frame.

The skies opened up and play was delayed right after Tauchman’s game-tying infield single.

But even with the big inning, the Cubs still couldn’t pull off a win. The Chicago bullpen gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the 5th and another tally in the bottom of the 6th as the Pirates ended up tallying a 10-9 victory.

All said and done, the Cubs collected 12 free passes Saturday — 10 walks and 2 hit-by-pitches as the Pirates pitching staff struggled with their control all day.