Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner showed off his baseball smarts on a third inning double play against the White Sox.
With runners on first and second and one out, Ben Brown induced a pop-up from Chase Meidroth that drifted between first and second base.
Rather than trying to catch the pop-up, Hoerner allowed it to hit the ground instead, picking the ball up and firing it to third base to retire Lenyn Sosa in an inning-ending play:
For a refresher for baseball fans, Meidroth was automatically out because of the infield fly rule, which the umpire called in the background of the play. On such calls, baserunners can advance at their own risk, which Sosa attempted to do, and Hoerner made the play to retire him to end the inning.
The Cubs are aiming to take the weekend series against the White Sox, having won Saturday’s game 6-1. They’ll next head to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers beginning Monday night at American Family Field.