Tyler Stephenson's middle school mistake costs Reds at Wrigley Field

Tyler Stephenson made the play no catcher wants on May 7 at Wrigley Field, and the Reds paid for it. In the fourth inning against the Cubs, he caught the throw at the plate but did not tag Ian Happ, turning a routine force sequence into a run and another crack in a seven-game skid.

Stephenson at Wrigley Field

Cincinnati entered the game down 2-0 with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the fourth. Dansby Swanson hit a grounder to Ke'Bryan Hayes at third, and Hayes stepped on the bag for the first out before throwing home for a double-play try. The throw beat Happ to the plate by a wide margin, but Stephenson held the ball at the plate instead of applying the tag after the force was removed.

Once Hayes touched third, Happ had to be tagged. He stayed safe, the Cubs went up 3-0, and the inning kept moving.

John Sadak on the mistake

The Reds broadcast did not soften the moment. John Sadak said, "It's a tag play! He's gotta tag him!" He followed with, "Oh, this is a middle school mistake right here."

That call matched the way the play unfolded. The catcher had the throw, the runner was beat, and the missed tag changed the inning from a likely escape into a live rally for Chicago.

Cubs close out the Reds

Chicago scored four more runs in the inning and went on to win 8-3. The result completed a four-game sweep of the Reds and pushed Cincinnati to seven losses in a row.

The defeat also left the Reds winless in May after starting the season 20-11. For a team that had already dropped three consecutive walk-off games to the Cubs before this matchup, the error at home plate became the kind of play that can define a rough stretch in one inning and one series.