A double play? Really? Cubs manager Craig Counsell ejected after ‘umpires cost you two outs’

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DENVER – Nico Hoerner didn’t move from first base because Moises Ballesteros hit a foul ball.

That seemed to be what the players on the field thought.

And that’s what the replay showed, a foul ball going off Ballesteros’ foot.

But in the sixth inning of https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2026/06/11/cubs-seiya-suzuki-grand-slam-craig-counsell-power-numbers-home-runs-alex-bregman-nico-hoerner" >the Cubs’ 9-3 win over the Rockies on Thursday, the foul ball ended up with the Cubs hitting into a double play.

The Rockies picked the ball up and threw to second, then first, as no one moved.

The umpires called a pair of outs, and the Cubs went from a nascent scoring chance to down to their last out of the inning in a blink.

That didn’t sit well with manager Craig Counsell, who came out to voice his discontent.

The umpires huddled up, but there was no change in the outcome of play, which was not reviewable, preventing Counsell from issuing a challenge.

After the double play stood, Counsell was angered further, letting the umpires know and eventually earning his second ejection of the season, much to the delight of both the Cubs and Rockies fans in attendance.

“When umpires cost you two outs, that’s a big deal.

That’s an inning, an inning over,” Counsell said after the game. “They didn’t see it.

I don’t think you ever really see some of those plays.

Like a hit by pitch, you don’t necessarily see it.

“But when the player reaction on the field – every player’s reaction on the field – is very obvious, that’s what they go on in those situations.

I thought player reaction on the field was very obvious, and I was shocked when they got together that they didn’t think it was.”

The play ended up meaning little in the grand scheme of things.

The Cubs held a 6-2 at the time and went on to win by six runs.

But that didn’t make it any less bizarre – or any less important to Counsell and the Cubs – in the moment.

Cabrera bounces back

The Cubs haven’t seen the version of Edward Cabrera they thought they traded for last offseason.

The right-handed pitcher turned in a 3.53 ERA with the Marlins a season ago, and the Cubs surrendered top prospect Owen Caissie in the belief that Cabrera could be a top-of-the-rotation arm for years to come.

The performance from Cabrera hasn’t matched that expectation yet.

But Thursday, he did bounce back from a brutal start last time out, when he gave up eight runs and three homers in his return from a stay on the injured list.

This time, Cabrera held the Rockies to just two runs, the first time since his second start of the season April 5 in which he allowed fewer than three runs in an outing.

Those two runs did come on a pair of solo homers, and the Cubs’ worst-in-baseball total in that department is up to 102.

But it still qualified as a step forward for Cabrera as he and the Cubs seek the sort of contributions that can dramatically boost the injury-plagued rotation.

“This is obviously a tough place to pitch, and he was really effective today,” Counsell said. “It was a good bounce back to give him some confidence moving forward.

“He had some situations where I thought he lost it a little bit – just a very little bit, just five or six pitches – then came back and made some really good pitches.

That’s part of pitching, and that’s part of having a good start.”