CHICAGO -- Seiya Suzuki was beyond first base and he still was not sure if he had gotten the job done for the Cubs. He saw Padres left fielder Jase Bowen leap up and into the ivy-covered wall, trying to reel in the deep fly that Suzuki had just launched his way.
And then the baseball popped out of the greenery. Bowen fell into a seated position on the ground, pounded the dirt with a fist and the ball rolled away to his right as everyone inside Wrigley Field now knew the outcome. The crowd erupted. Suzuki had his hit and the Cubs had a 3-2 walk-off victory, giving the North Siders a Major League-high 10 walk-offs this year.
“At first, I thought he caught it,” Suzuki said via his interpreter, Edwin Stanberry. “But then I saw a white object that came out of the ivy. That’s when I knew it dropped.”
Suzuki threw one arm into the air and soon both were skyward as he slowed down coming into second base. It went into the books as a game-winning single -- one that scored Pete Crow-Armstrong, who wagged a finger after scoring before tossing his helmet away. The party gathered around shortstop, where Suzuki had his jersey tugged loose and was drenched with water.
That last part of the scene had to feel particularly refreshing in the night’s scorching conditions. It was a draining, humid evening during which both pitching staffs defied the hitter-friendly odds. The Cubs were searching all night for their big hit, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position for eight innings.
Go figure, the biggest hit arrived when Padres closer Mason Miller took the hill.
“He’s a great pitcher,” Suzuki said. “I just knew going into that at-bat, I need to pick one pitch and then my spot, and in that at-bat there’s only going to be that one pitch. Don’t miss it.”
Suzuki said you always have to keep Miller’s triple-digit fastball in the back of your head, but the Cubs' designated hitter decided to zero in on the righty’s slider in this at-bat. Miller, who took the mound with a 0.79 ERA and 17.5 strikeouts per nine innings on the year, started Suzuki off with a slider that the slugger took for a ball above the zone.
Miller went back to the slider again, but the next one dropped into the heart of the zone.
“I’m glad I didn’t miss it,” Suzuki said.
The frame started with Padres righty Jason Adam facing Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, who swung through the first two pitches before working the count full and then reaching via an infield single. Crow-Armstrong followed and slashed a changeup from Adam into left for a single. With the game in a 2-2 deadlock and two runners aboard, San Diego turned to Miller.
In his previous at-bat in the sixth, Alex Bregman flew out to end the inning, leaving the bases loaded. This time around, the Cubs' third baseman sent a slider from Miller up the middle for a single to load things up for Michael Busch. On the next play, Chicago took a gamble that threatened to halt the momentum.
Busch lofted a pitch to shallow left, where Bowen hustled in for a routine catch. The ball was hit into an area that normally would not call for the runner on third tagging up and trying to score. Given the circumstances, however, Cubs third-base coach Quintin Berry gave Swanson the green light.
Swanson was thrown out at the plate for a gut punch of a double play.
“We took a chance on the fly ball,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “You have to go on the fly ball. They made a nice play.”
Suzuki rendered all of that drama and the previous misfires by the Cubs’ offense moot with his clutch swing. It delivered a 13th win in 17 games for Chicago, even as the team has dealt with a long list of injuries throughout its roster. The Cubs also currently have their most walk-off wins in a season since 2015 (10), and there are still three months to go.
For Suzuki, he has now reached base in 20 of his last 22 games. And since Counsell gave him a day off on Thursday, the slugger has responded by hitting .375 (6-for-16) with two homers and eight RBIs in four games. Before his game-winning hit, Suzuki also doubled and scored in the fourth and added a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
“He’s one of the top hitters in MLB,” Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga said via Stanberry. “The hits and the homers, especially in the situations where the team needs it and he delivers, that’s not really surprising to me, just because I see all the work he puts in behind the scenes.”