For one wild trip around the bases at Fenway Park, the Cubs looked as if they had borrowed a page from “Rookie of the Year.” Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson came charging toward home almost together Friday, diving across the plate less than a second apart after Miguel Amaya’s deep drive turned into a Green Monster carom.
A fly ball turns into a two-run scramble
The play unfolded in the second inning with Busch at second base and Swanson on first. Amaya sent a high fly toward the left-field corner, driving Red Sox left fielder Roman Anthony back toward the Monster.
It initially had the look of a ball that might leave the yard. Instead, the wind knocked it down by 60 feet, as measured by Statcast, and it struck high off the Green Monster rather than clearing it.
- Busch broke from second and raced for the plate.
- Swanson got an especially sharp read off the wall and quickly followed him around the bases.
- Busch completed a headfirst slide at home just before Swanson arrived with a headfirst dive of his own.
- The sequence put Chicago ahead 3-0.
Less than a second separates Busch and Swanson
The timing made the play even stranger than it appeared in real time. Busch covered the distance from second base to home in 10.97 seconds. Swanson went first-to-home in 11.70 seconds.
That left only 0.73 seconds between their trips across home plate, producing the kind of nearly synchronized finish usually reserved for a movie scene. The Cubs connection made the resemblance to “Rookie of the Year” especially fitting: in the film, Henry Rowengartner and a teammate wind up sliding home almost in unison after a chaotic baserunning sequence.
A timely pair of runs in the Wild Card race
Beyond the entertainment value, the dash mattered on the scoreboard. Chicago’s 3-0 advantage came in a game with postseason seeding stakes as the National League Wild Card field remains crowded.
Near-simultaneous slides have surfaced before. Last season, Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos reached third base together and then slid feetfirst into home at nearly the same moment. Busch and Swanson gave the Cubs their own version Friday, with the Green Monster serving as the unlikely co-star.
