SF Giants’ ‘chaotic’ first inning vs. Cubs put on a fire alarm, play three

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Robbie Ray said the first inning of the Giants’ 5-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs was “enough spring training chaos in one game.” “Chaos” is an apt adjective for an inning that saw San Francisco (2-0) play with a fire alarm, then turn a 4-3-6-5 triple play – which started on a base hit.

As the saying goes, you never know what you’re going to see in football.

“It’s spring training for both sides. We’re working on things, and I think it’s not just both sides, it’s facilities as well,” Giants rookie manager Tony Vitello said.

Chaos started after the first song. Following Ray’s fourth pitch to hit Matt Shaw, the fire alarm at Scottsdale Stadium went off. The lights began to flash, and an ominous recorded message called for fans to head to the exits.

The Giants and the Cubs stayed on the field, not knowing how to proceed. Some followers went as instructed, while others took uncertain steps, heading towards the summit. It turned out that there was no emergency as the alarms were set off by a fan smoking in the toilet.

Ray thought both teams would wait for the alarm, but the first umpire told Ray to keep throwing. So, with flashing lights and confused fans, Ray shot away. Bench coach Jayce Tingler called for a refresher, and Vitello said “It would be nice if (Ray) knew it was OK” before the lefty continued to throw.

“That was indescribable,” Vitello said. “I feel bad for Robbie. Now, we can laugh about it, but (Matt Chapman) said the same thing I was thinking. You’re trying to play, but your family is in the houses and you probably think – I’ve been a condo guy my whole career, so when the fire alarm goes off, you just think someone pulled it or something.”

Said Ray: “I look up in the stands and they’re bringing people out of the stands, I’m like, ‘Are we going to play like this?’ It made me feel a little sad.”

Ray walked Shaw, then walked Alex Bregman to put runners on first and second with no outs. That set the stage for Seiya Suzuki – and more madness.

On Ray’s 18th and final pitch of the afternoon, Suzuki flipped a bloop single into shallow right-center field. Second striker Luis Arráez recovered the ball and fired home. First baseman Rafael Devers, seeing Suzuki’s bolt for the second time, intercepted Arráez’s throw. Devers then fired at Adames, who took out the Suzuki first.

As Adames applied the tag, Bregman found himself in no man’s land between second and third. Shaw planted himself at third base, and Bregman had nowhere to go, so he raced to third base. Shaw and Bregman both stood on the bag, and when Adames tagged them both, Bregman was called because he was a route runner.

Two outs may have been all the Giants got, but then Shaw wandered off the base and started taking off his gear, apparently thinking the game was dead. Instead, Chapman returned the ball to Adames and tagged out Shaw, completing an odd triple play and, by extension, an odd inning.

“I just saw him come off the base,” Chapman said. “It was common sense at the time. I knew he was safe, so I just tagged along. There’s a lot going on.”

“I didn’t see a triple play,” Cubs starter Colin Rea said. “I was confused about the fire drill, and there were three firefighters, and I said, ‘I don’t know what happened, but here we go.’ “

Ray had a childlike smile as he came off the mound, raising his left fist in celebration, and Vitello thinks the team will joke about that inning all spring. The 34-year-old Ray finished his afternoon with an unusual finish (one inning, one hit, two walks, no runs, faced three batters), and it may have been the first triple in recorded history that started with a hit.