Davis off Chapman

November 2, 2016, Game 7 at Progressive Field. The Cubs led, 6–3, in the eighth. Joe Maddon brought in Aroldis Chapman, the closer, with a three-run lead and six outs still to get if the ninth was going to be his as well. Rajai Davis hit a two-run homer. The game was tied, 6–6.

A rain delay followed. In the tenth Ben Zobrist and Miguel Montero drove in runs, Cleveland scored once, and the Cubs won, 8–7. It ended a World Series drought that had lasted since 1908.

The homer did not lose the series. It tied a game Chicago still won. What the entry keeps is the choice to spend Chapman in the eighth, up three, and the pitch that made the lead disappear for an inning and a delay. Davis earned the home run. The managerial part is when the pitcher was asked to get those outs.