Chicago Cubs just did something no MLB team has ever done. A Bradley grad was part of it
The Chicago Cubs made Major League Baseball history on Thursday night, becoming the first team to pull off an oddly specific rally in a victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Former Bradley University player Mike Tauchman was in the hero's role as he doubled home the winning run to finish a three-run comeback in the bottom of the ninth as the Cubs walked off the Cardinals, 5-4, at Wrigley Field.
“That was fun,” Tauchman told mlb.com. “It was an awesome inning. Probably one of our better innings of the year. Just really good at-bats there. It’s fun. It’s cool.”
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The Cubs became the only MLB team — since pitches began being tracked in 1988 — to have three separate two-strike RBI extra-base hits in the bottom of the ninth inning of a victory. They all came off former Peoria Chiefs right-hander Ryan Helsley, who hadn't allowed a two-strike extra-base hit all season.
THE CUBS SCORE 3 IN THE 9TH AND WALK IT OFF VS THE CARDINALS! ⚾️🔥pic.twitter.com/fLK9bKAEnq
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) August 2, 2024
Tauchman, who played for Bradley from 2010-13, sliced a 2-2 fastball by Cardinals closer Helsley (4-4) into the left field corner to drive in Dansby Swanson with the winning run. Chicago trailed 4-2 entering the ninth against Helsley, who had converted 33 of his previous 35 save tries.
Cody Bellinger cut the lead to 4-3 with one out when he lined his 11th homer of the season, a shot to left-center. Swanson later tied the game with a double.
Tauchman, 33, is a Palatine native who is hitting .246 with five home runs and 20 RBIs in his second season with the Cubs. He has played seven MLB seasons with the Giants, Yankees, Rockies and Cubs for 443 career games and 30 home runs. In his senior year at Bradley, he hit .425 to lead all NCAA Division-I players. He was inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023.
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This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Chicago Cubs make MLB history with string of two-strike hits vs. Cardinals
