The Cubs were staring down a three-game sweep in Seattle before Sunday turned into an absolute laugher. Chicago put up 19 runs on 17 hits, and the headline wasn't just the final score -- it was that two different Cubs hitters left the yard with the bases loaded in the same game. That's happened exactly twice before in franchise history dating back to 1910, and not since Matt Duffy and Frank Schwindel did it on September 5, 2021.
Ramirez's slam came late, in the top of the 8th off Mariners backup catcher Jhonny Pereda, and it turned an already lopsided game into a full-blown pile-on. Barstool Chicago caught the trot, with the broadcast graphic flashing the Duffy/Schwindel callback in real time.
PEDRO RAMIREZ GRAND SLAM! Two touchdown lead for the Cubs! https://t.co/d7OcAtdybV
Ian Happ got things started well before that. His slam landed in the 3rd inning off Mariners starter Bryce Miller, who was already unraveling after issuing three straight two-out walks to load the bases for him. Miller finished with a career-high 7 walks on the day -- bases-loaded free passes in both the 3rd and 5th innings -- which tells you everything about how this one got out of hand for Seattle.
It wasn't just the two slam guys, either. Pete Crow-Armstrong added his 33rd homer of the season, and the barrage showed up all over the Barstool Chicago and Barstool Baseball timelines as the Cubs kept adding on.
PCA doing what PCA does. https://t.co/5juuulNgfi
The win snapped a 3-game losing streak and kept Chicago rolling in the wild card race -- the kind of statement blowout a team wants right before a stretch run. For a Cubs club that's been fighting to hold its playoff position, watching a rough weekend flip into a franchise-history night is about as good a response as it gets.
Steven Cheah's early-game clip of a Cubs player pointing to the sky rounding the bases with the scoreboard showing an early 2-0 lead captures how this one started snowballing from the first inning on -- long before anyone knew two different guys would be clearing the bases with one swing apiece.
PCYA LATER BASEBALL!!!! https://t.co/4eTbJieavY