In a strange sequence of events, Seiya Suzuki directly led to 8 runs being scored in the 2nd inning of Saturday night’s Cubs-Reds game at Wrigley Field.

After a 3-hour, 20-minute rain delay, the two teams finally kicked off play in wet and sloppy conditions.

Suzuki tripled in his first at-bat in the bottom of the 1st inning but was ultimately stranded at third base.

In the top of the 2nd inning, Cubs starter Justin Steele got a strikeout to begin the frame then allowed a single, a walk and hit a batter to load the bases with 1 out.

Steele induced an infield popup for the second out and then got Reds catcher Luke Maile to hit a routine fly ball to right field.

Suzuki initially appeared to be camped under the ball but it deflected off his glove and instead of an inning-ending flyout, it became a 3-run error. The next batter singled to drive home Maile and just like that, the Reds were up 4-0 on 4 unearned runs.

But Suzuki didn’t have to wait long for his redemption.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Suzuki came up with 2 outs and the bases loaded. He battled to a full count and then turned on a 98 mph fastball from Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene for a game-tying grand slam.

“That was huge,” Justin Steele said. “There was nobody that was more excited for him than me. I was down in the tunnel freaking out. I was going nuts. What a moment for him.

“That’s just the kind of player he is. He doesn’t let things get to him. He comes right back, steps in the box and ties the game up. That’s the kind of player he is and he’s gonna help us win a lot of ballgames.”

It was a wild sequence in the game and the end result was both teams headed into the 3rd inning still tied.

“Just shows you know his character and who he is, who he is as a player,” Dansby Swanson said. “He has the ability to change the game at any point. He is talented and so gifted. A lot of people could hang their heads after something like that happened but he obviously came back right back and responded the way that we all know that he’s capable of.”

Suzuki said after the game that he doesn’t really remember the at-bat where he hit the grand slam because he was focused on dropping the routine fly ball.

“To be honest with you, it did get me pretty emotional,” Suzuki said through interpreter Toy Matsushita. “Obviously it’s a play that I should have made. Just really mad at myself today.”

Suzuki refused to make excuses postgame and blame the lights or the falling rain for dropping the ball.

The Cubs went on to win the game 7-5 thanks to a Swanson 2-run shot in the bottom of the 8th inning.

“It’s the hit that we’ve been lacking through this stretch, for sure,” Craig Counsell said. “So to get it, it feels good for sure. And it feels great for Dansby. I think we’re all thrilled for Dansby. He needed it and to have the hit that wins the game that’s a big deal.”

Suzuki became only the 4th Cubs player since 1974 to hit a homer and a triple in the first 2 innings of a game, joining Bill Buckner (1979), Sammy Sosa (1999), Ryan Theriot (2009) and Jason Heyward (2019).

Suzuki was the only one of those players to hit a grand slam.