Oddities

Here’s an oddity for you. On Thursday, July 24, 2014, the Chicago Cubs hosted the San Diego Padres in a night game at Wrigley Field. The game was tied 1-1 heading into the top of the sixth inning before the Padres put on their hitting shoes and scored nine runs.

Edwin Jackson was on the mound for the Cubs and he opened the inning by walking Yasmai Grandal. Will Venable singled to right field advancing Grandal to second.

The Cubs brought Brian Schlitter into the game to replace Jackson, who apparently suffered a hand injury. Jake Goebbert singled to center field to load the bases.

Chris Nelson hit a ground ball to third baseman Luis Valbuena, who made a bad throw in an attempt to get a force out. Grandal scored, Venable moved to third, Goebbert took second, and Nelson was safe at first (Padres 2, Cubs 1).

Rene Rivera single to right field, Venable and Goebbert scored, and Nelson advanced to third (Padres 4, Cubs 1). Schlitter hit Tyson Ross with a pitch to reload the bases.

Alexi Amarista grounded a single into center field, scoring Nelson and Rivera; Ross moved up to second (Padres 6, Cubs 1). Yangervis Solarte walked to reload the bases.

The Cubs brought Wesley Wright in to replace Schlitter. Seth Smith singled to center field; Ross scored, Amarista advanced to third, and Solarte moved to second (Padres 7, Cubs 1).

The Cubs finally recorded an out when Grandal was called out on strikes. Venable followed with a single to center field, scoring Amarista and moving Solarte to third and Smith to second (Padres 8, Cubs 1).

Goebbert struck out swinging for the second out. Nelson followed with a single to right field; Solarte and Smith scored and Venable moved to second (Padres 10, Cubs 1). Rivera singled to left field, reloading the bases as Venable moved to third and Nelson advanced to second.

Ross grounded out second-to-first to end the inning.

When the dust had finally settled and the air had quickly cleared, the Padres had scored nine runs–and every player in the Padre lineup had scored one run. Now that’s odd.