CHICAGO -- The Cubs were missing the breakthrough hit all night long on Monday, but found one when it mattered most.
Facing Padres closer Mason Miller in the bottom of the ninth inning, Cubs designated hitter Seiya Suzuki sent a deep fly ball to left field, where outfielder Jase Bowen was unable to finish a leaping catch as he crashed into Wrigley Field’s famous ivy-covered brick wall. The baseball shook free and Suzuki threw his arms skyward, having delivered a walk-off single to give the Cubs a dramatic 3-2 win.
“He throws his fastball 100-some miles an hour,” Suzuki said via his interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “So, you have to keep that in the back of your head, even in that situation. In that at-bat, I was looking for if there was a slider that was towards in, up and in. That’s one pitch I can get to. I’m glad I didn’t miss it.”
The win is the Major League-leading 10th in walk-off fashion for the Cubs, who had struggled to get much going throughout the game. Chicago went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the first eight frames, but that was effectively erased with the players surrounding Suzuki in celebration on the field.
Here were three key elements within Monday’s victory:
1. Shota keeps Padres in the ballpark
With the wind blowing out and the temperature scorching (91° and humid at first pitch), it was fair to think home runs might be an issue for Shota Imanaga. The Cubs' lefty mixed up his arsenal as the outing progressed and defied the elements.
Imanaga did allow nine hits over his 6 1/3 innings -- including putting the first two runners aboard in three frames -- but he limited the damage. A fielder’s choice groundout in the third and an RBI double from Xander Bogaerts in the fourth led to the only runs on the pitcher’s line. Imanaga did not give up a home run for the seventh time in 17 starts.
“I thought Shota pitched great,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “We desperately needed the length. For him to get into the seventh inning just meant everything, and with the chance to win the game meant everything. He pitched great tonight.”
Miguel Andujar and Ty France connected for back-to-back singles to begin the sixth, but Imanaga then set down Jackson Merrill (flyout), Bogaerts (groundout) and Freddy Fermin (popout) to escape unscathed. That kept the game locked in a 2-2 tie.
When Imanaga walked off to a rousing reception from the Wrigley Field faithful, he did so with a 2.82 ERA over his last four turns for Chicago. In that span, he gave up three homers (all in his previous start against the Mets) in 22 1/3 innings. Compare that to the four starts before that stretch, when he yielded 12 homers in 21 2/3 innings (10.80 ERA).
2. Suzuki’s sky-aided sac fly
After the Padres handed the ball to lefty reliever Kyle Hart in the fifth, Suzuki stepped to the plate with one out and the bases loaded.
Suzuki sent a pitch from Hart to center field, where Merrill hustled in pursuit. For a moment, the Padres' center fielder had trouble spotting the ball against the dusk-impacted sky. Merrill’s momentary flinch put Dansby Swanson on full alert as he read the play as the runner on third.
Merrill recovered in the nick of time to make a lunging catch, but it gave Swanson the opening he needed. The Cubs' shortstop tagged up and hustled home from third to score, pulling the game into a 2-2 deadlock.
3. Amaya nabs Tatis
In the top of the ninth inning, Fernando Tatis Jr. found a one-out single when a sharp grounder eluded the grasp of Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner.
The Padres brought Gavin Sheets off the bench to pinch-hit against Cubs righty Trent Thornton, and Tatis opted to try to move up 90 feet. Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya came up firing and Swanson got a tag to the back of Tatis’ helmet as he slid into the base.
San Diego challenged the out call, but the decision stood after a replay review. Thornton then followed with a strikeout of Sheets to end the inning and set up Chicago’s latest walk-off win.
“It was a great throw,” Counsell said. “It changes the dynamic of the inning, obviously. Those are big plays and those are plays that win you games. Maybe not the central role, but supporting roles.”