CHICAGO -- Pete Crow-Armstrong knows all too well how unforgiving the bricks and ivy can be for outfielders at Wrigley Field. On Monday night, the Cubs' center fielder was given an assist by the old ballpark on an Emilio Pagán pitch he launched deep into his home territory in the ninth inning.
Reds center fielder Dane Myers was unable to secure the ball with a leaping catch into the ivy in right-center field, and Crow-Armstrong was sprinting around the bases for a leadoff triple. Nico Hoerner brought him in with a sacrifice fly and Michael Conforto took care of the rest, belting a pinch-hit, walk-off homer that sent the Cubs to a 5-4 win at the Friendly Confines.
With the win, the North Siders ran their winning streak to six games overall and 12 at home, marking the longest run at Wrigley since a 14-game streak in 2008. Chicago’s longest winning streak at home in the history of Wrigley Field is an 18-game stretch in September of 1935.
The Cubs did not get much going against Reds righty Chase Petty, but broke through when the starter had a momentary lapse in command. In the fourth, Petty issued consecutive walks to Alex Bregman and Ian Happ to open the frame, bringing slugger Seiya Suzuki to the plate with the Cubs in a 3-0 hole.
Suzuki attacked an elevated 1-0 sinker from Petty and sent it rocketing out to center field. The Cubs' right fielder gave a little bat flip as he exited the box, knowing immediately -- along with the roaring crowd -- that his shot had evened things up.
The three-run blast from Suzuki landed beyond the bleacher seats on the left-field side of the batter’s eye in center. Per Statcast, it travelled a projected 455 feet, marking the longest homer by a Cubs batter this season and the second-farthest shot of his career. At 112.6 mph, the home run was also the fourth-hardest of Suzuki’s career.
That effectively cancelled out the damage the Reds did against Cubs righty Edward Cabrera, who allowed three runs across his six innings of work. A solo shot from JJ Bleday in the third and a two-run homer by Ke’Bryan Hayes in the fourth accounted for Cincinnati’s scoring against Cabrera.
In the eighth inning, the Reds took a 4-3 lead on an RBI single to left from Spencer Steer. Blake Dunn, who pinch-ran at first and stole second base to open the frame, used a head-first slide to narrowly beat the relay from left fielder Happ to catcher Carson Kelly on the play.