Bam! Slam! Bedlam! Cubs waken in ninth
Pinch blast by rookie stuns Nationals
CHICAGO — The celebration was under way by the time David Bote flung his helmet high into the air on his way home.
Teammates were jumping up and down, ready to mob him at the plate. The fans were in a frenzy, too.
Nothing like a game-ending grand slam to get the festivities started.
A pinch-hitting Bote smashed one against Ryan Madson with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 4-3 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sunday.
The rookie’s long drive to center field came after dominant starts by Washington’s Max Scherzer and Chicago’s Cole Hamels.
Madson (2-5) entered with a 3-0 lead to start the ninth.
He gave up an infield single to Jason Heyward with one out and hit Albert Almora with a pitch. Madson then retired Kyle Schwarber on a foul pop before hitting Willson Contreras to load the bases.
With a 2-and-2 count, Bote drove a knee-high fastball well beyond the center-field wall.
Teammates ripped off Bote’s jersey at the plate. He also had a cooler emptied on him as he gave an interview on the field while fans chanted “Bote! Bote!”
“It’s magical,” he said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling. It couldn’t happen to a better team, a better group of people in that clubhouse. And I’m so blessed and honored to be part of it.”
Bote has made quite an impression while bouncing back and forth between the minors. He is batting .329 with three homers in 34 games for the Cubs, with Bonanza product Kris Bryant battling injuries this season.
His slam helped Chicago take two of three in the first meeting between these teams since the Cubs beat Washington in last year’s National League division series. It also made a winner of Justin Wilson (4-3), who got the final two outs in the ninth.
Scherzer tossed three-hit ball over seven innings. The three-time Cy Young Award winner struck out 11 and walked one.
But the Nationals managed just three hits — one off Hamels. He gave up one run in seven innings, struck out nine and walked one in his third start since Chicago acquired him from Texas.