For second time in three years, Lorenzo Cain outfoxed the Cubs thanks to Rusty Kuntz
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
If that phrase is true, Cubs infielders must have been embarrassed on Saturday. That’s because Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain outwitted Chicago on the base paths using a trick he learned while with the Royals.
Two years ago, Cain pulled the wool over the Cubs eyes with the same ploy with a slight variation.
On Saturday at Wrigley Field, Cain was on second base in the second inning when Ben Gamel hit a grounder to Cubs shortstop Javier Báez. Cain took off for third but was trapped in a rundown. Cain managed to avoid being tagged long enough for Gamel to approach second base.
As Cain headed back to second base, he instructed Gamel to run back to first because no one was covering that bag.
Gamel did as told and everyone was safe. The heads-up move paid off as Cain scored later in the inning.
“I just tried to stay in a rundown there as long as I can, and get Gamel to second,” Cain told MLB.com. “And as I am running back to second base, I peeked over to first base to see if anyone was there. I noticed no one was there. I’m screaming at Gamel to get back to first base. I’m pointing. I’m doing everything I can to make him aware that first base is open. He picked me up. I got back to second. You know, I’m just out here trying to do what I can to make plays.”
Here is the play:
Two years ago, Cain helped the Brewers out of a similar jam against the Cubs. Only this time, it was Cain who scampered back to first as the Cubs failed to get an out.
In that instance, Cain was batting but told Christian Yelich to return to second base since he could occupy it instead of Cain.
“I peeked back (at first). I actually want to credit that play to Rusty Kuntz,” Cain told reporters at the time. “We actually used to practice that play when I was in KC. Never actually happened, but it happened tonight. It was huge. It was nice, a nice play.”
That’s strange, right? It never happened when Cain was in Kansas City, but it’s happened to Cain twice. Here is the first instance:
