CHICAGO -- Sparked by a game-tying two-run homer by Alex Bregman in the ninth inning, the Cubs went on to win via walk-off in the 11th inning, beating the Blue Jays, 3-2, on Thursday at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs were stymied by Toronto starter Dylan Cease for seven innings. Against Cease, they produced just three baserunners, and only one -- Miguel Amaya in the sixth inning -- reached scoring position. They struck out 10 times, six of them looking, and drew one walk.
But down 2-0 in the ninth against Blue Jays closer Louis Varland, Pete Crow-Armstrong led off with a single before Bregman’s two-out homer to the basket in left field sent the game into extras. In the 11th inning, Crow-Armstrong scored the winning run, stealing third and then scoring on a throwing error by Blue Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela.
The Blue Jays scored in the first inning on a disengagement violation by Cubs starter David Peterson, which was enough for Cease until Toronto added an insurance run on Andrés Giménez’s RBI single in the seventh inning.
Thursday’s game was a makeup from a June 21 rainout, finishing a 5-2 homestand for the Cubs, who lost the series against the Yankees before sweeping the Dodgers.