CUBS GET A CRITICAL UMPIRING BREAK — SEE 2026 — AND ADVANCE WITH THE YANKEES
A new system would have protected the Padres in the ninth inning — and might have produced a victory — but without a real closer, the Cubs survived behind the startling defense of Dansby Swanson
The pitch was not a strike, a shoddy umpire now realizes. It was a ball, which the robots would have determined in 2026 through the Automated Ball-Strike system. Xander Bogaerts would have been dispatched to first base, before the bases were loaded when Ryan O’Hearn and Bryce Johnson were hit by pitches. What did sad jokesters used to say about Helen Keller? Sorry, Brad Keller couldn’t see home plate either in the ninth inning Thursday.
Fortunately for Chicago, which couldn’t stand another bout of Bartmanism in a playoff series, the Cubs didn’t lose Game 3 to the Padres. They were saved, for once in their lives, only because human umpires still make the calls on ball-and-strike pitches. Thanks to the calendar, they were not victims in a depressing history of postseason slop. It’s true, even though Keller allowed a home run to Jackson Merrill to open the inning.
Would someone explain why Keller is the closer of a team that wants to win the World Series? Why is Mason Miller throwing 104 mph in the San Diego bullpen? Whatever boss Jed Hoyer didn’t do at the trade deadline almost burned him, while Craig Counsell was visibly miffed when he removed Keller from the game and needed to use Andrew Kittredge, who had started Game 2 in a bullpenning move that contributed to a loss. This move worked, saving Counsell from grief that generally should follow a $40 million manager.
Still, know what’s next: The Cubs cannot win the National League pennant, let alone a title, if their final inning is so awkward in a 3-1 victory. The fans were standing throughout the game at swaying Wrigley Field, sensing this team is playing in October and pondering a repeat of 2016 glory. Then they realized Hoyer has a blindspot that will continue to haunt the Cubs, who would have to win a division series, a league championship series and the Fall Classic to win their second crown since 1908.
“I thought it went the way we wanted it to go,” Counsell said. “I thought Kit would have to get some outs there, and he did a hell of a job.”
At least Major League Baseball can say one, two, three, four — New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia are among the final eight teams. Watch the Dodgers play the Phillies, as Shohei Ohtani starts Game 1 on the mound and might hit two home runs. That would be a moment of a baseball lifetime. The Yankees managed to save Aaron Boone’s job for another series with a 4-0 victory over Boston, which struggled against rookie pitcher Cam Schlitter. Make sure you say the name properly, as he struck out 12 and allowed only five hits in eight innings. The win gives Aaron Judge another series, against Toronto, to rock the playoffs. There still is an opportunity to see the Dodgers and Yankees in another Series, but both teams have issues and might not get past Milwaukee and Seattle in mind-bending scenarios. That’s what I said.
The series against the Brewers will be a charming experience for Cubdom, knowing 90 miles of bratwurst stops and jokecracking happen between the two cities. But this was a game where the marvelous glovework of Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner should have been emphasized — yet was replaced by Keller, who will dominate Chicago radio chats until Saturday. In any balance of life, a Cheesehead team with the 23rd-ranked payroll should not compete with the Cubs, who attain top-three revenues in Wrigleyville. The Brewers, with several days off, will be favored anyway.
After the bad call by plate umpire D.J. Reyburn, who shouldn’t be working in the autumn, Bogaerts protested. So did manager Mike Shildt, who shouted something obscene. Looking back, it’s hard to believe the Padres wouldn’t tie the game, or take the lead, with no one out and the bases loaded.
“Um, looked down to me. Most importantly, Bogey thought it was down,” Shildt said. “He is not a guy who is overly dramatic about a pitch. It’s a big pitch. It’s a big swing pitch. What unfolded after that, it would have been very impactful.”
The Cubs roll along merrily. “These moments never get old,” Swanson said. “Being able to compete on a stage like this is literally the most fun you’ll have in your life … to be able to go take the field with them and come together for something greater than ourselves, for this city, oh man. It literally sends chills down my spine.”
Said Shildt: “Dansby Swanson absolutely beat us with his glove this series.”
Pete Crow-Armstrong, whose bat is productive at the right time, said the fans deserve to see more postseason ball. “The stadium stayed the same, the energy didn’t shift. They kept at the same level the whole game, which was just electric,” he said. “We want to keep bringing it back here. That would be the most ideal, to be able to do it in front of these people every single time.”
For those who want more of The Big Dumper, along with his 60 home runs and growing MVP support, say hello to Cal Raleigh and Tarik Skubal. Detroit survived blowing a 15 1/2-game division lead and managed to conquer Cleveland in the Wild Card series, not that the Tigers are given much chance against a Seattle team that never has been to the World Series. At least Skubal arrives in Washington this weekend as one of the game’s premier starters — he pitched for the Seattle University Redhawks — but join me in believing the Mariners are positioned as the American League’s best team.
They are a fun assortment, thanks to Raleigh, who has had a few days off after the most valorous season ever put together by a catcher. He didn’t break Judge’s league record of 62 homers, but don’t doubt him in the postseason. He hasn’t quit yet, after seven months of toil. All you need to know is that Ichiro Suzuki, in the Hall of Fame at 51, played right field in a scrimmage Thursday.
Said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch: “It only gets better from here. And I’m proud of our group for continuing to learn and grow and mature and fight off some of the negative thoughts that come along the way when people doubt you or you start struggling a little bit. You’ve got to stay in there.”
For now, we are focused on the Yankees, Dodgers and Cubs. Metropolitan breakdowns mean they are expected to win. All three might not survive the next round. Don’t tell Swanson. “This group’s battle-tested,” he said. “This group can grind it out. This group never backs down from and shies away from anything. This is such an amazing thing to be a part of.”
The story will be better if the closer stays in the game. It’s 2025. The gods are with the Cubs, who celebrated with wine and beer. They play again in hours, up the road, where Counsell will be taunted for leaving one team and managing the other. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere,” he said. “It’s Cubs-Brewers. That’s going to be as good as it gets. It’s always a great atmosphere when the two teams play each other.”
Milwaukee’s closer is Trevor Megill, an All-Star.
We’ll leave it at that.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.