Cubs Defeat Mets on Controversial Double Play at the Plate

Aside from that blemish, Butto was excellent for the Mets. He tossed six innings of four-hit ball with six strikeouts against two walks.

The Mets' bullpen was lights-out as Jorge Lopez, Jake Diekman, Adam Ottavino, and Sean Reid-Foley kept the Cubs off the scoreboard for the rest of the game.

On the other side, Shota Imanaga notched a Cy Young-esque performance in his sixth MLB start. Imanaga completed seven innings on 87 pitches and allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out seven. The Mets didn't come close to threatening with the Cubs' big-fish offseason addition on the mound.

Mark Leiter Jr. and Yency Almonte got the Cubs through the eighth inning. However, the ninth inning is when chaos ensued.

Against Hector Neris, the Mets had runners on second and third following a late rally. Pete Alonso reached after being struck by Neris, and J.D. Martinez then put a charge into a ball to right-center field. Nearly making a web-gem play, Pete Crow-Armstrong had the ball bounce out of his mitt, resulting in a Martinez double. Then, the drama ramped up.

Jeff McNeil sent a ball to left field near the line, where Ian Happ made the catch for the first out of the inning. Alonso decided to test Happ's arm, but an incredible cutoff by Nick Madrigal resulted in a bang-bang play at the plate. Miguel Amaya was situated on home plate as he caught the relay, and Alonso was called out at the plate. The Mets challenged the play, but the call stood and the game ended in a 1-0 Cubs victory.

Analyzing the Call

Following the review, the MLB Replay Center said the following of the game-ending call:

"The call is confirmed, as it is not a violation [of the blocking rule]. Additionally, the replay official could not definitively determine that the runner contacted home plate prior to catching applying the tag. The call stands, and the runner is out."

Let's break this down into two parts. First, there was no blocking violation, hence the confirmed call. After analyzing that blocking didn't occur (which is largely what was being argued), the official determined that it was inconclusive if Alonso touched home plate, therefore forcing the decision to stand as called on the field.

This call will be the topic of many MLB segments on Thursday, as it leaves a lot of grey area in what is defined as blocking the plate.

Additionally, there was a good hot-mic clip from the exchange.

Shota Shoved

Shota Imanaga was sensational on Wednesday. Lasting seven innings without touching 100 pitches made for a successful night. In a likely event to keep the lefty healthy, he was lifted after 87 pitches. Nonetheless, just three hits and one walk later, along with seven strikeouts, Imanaga continued his dominant run in his first MLB season.

Imanaga's ERA dipped to 0.78 after his seven shutout innings on Wednesday. The southpaw is already being called Shota Cymanaga by fans after his hot start.

What's On Tap Next?

The Cubs and Mets play one final game in New York before the Cubbies return to Wrigley Field on Friday. Thursday's 12:10 PM CT getaway day start features Ben Brown on the mound for the Cubs against Mets' right Adrian Houser.