Suzuki's Ninth-Inning Single Lifts Cubs Past Padres, 3-2

Seiya Suzuki singled to left in the ninth inning to score Pete Crow-Armstrong and hand Chicago a 3-2 walk-off win over San Diego on June 30. The hit swung the Cubs' win probability from 63% to 100% — a 37-point lurch that ended what had been a tightly contested game all night.

San Diego came out swinging. Fernando Tatis Jr. grounded into a fielder's choice in the third that scored Xander Bogaerts, and Bogaerts doubled to left in the fourth to plate Miguel Andujar, pushing the Padres to a 2-0 lead. Andujar was the engine early — he went 3-for-4 on the night — and Bogaerts was sharp too, finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Chicago looked like it was chasing.

But the Cubs clawed back in the fourth and fifth. Michael Conforto singled to right to score Suzuki and cut it to 2-1, then Suzuki hit a sacrifice fly to center in the fifth to score Swanson and tie the game at 2. On the mound, Shota Imanaga gave up 9 hits and 2 earned runs over 6.1 innings but walked nobody and struck out four — the kind of line that looks worse than it felt. Griffin Canning lasted just 4.1 innings for San Diego, allowing 5 hits and 2 earned runs with 2 walks. Adrian Morejon came on and threw 1.1 scoreless innings with 2 strikeouts, keeping the Padres' deficit from growing. Gavin Hollowell matched him with 1.1 scoreless frames for Chicago.

The story of the night was Suzuki, full stop. He finished 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and a run scored, and his ninth-inning single to left — scoring Crow-Armstrong and moving Bregman to third — was the decisive blow. Crow-Armstrong was solid all night himself, going 2-for-3 with a run scored. It's worth noting that Bregman was on third when the game ended, which looks like a fitting footnote given his public admission that he regrets not running hard to first base in Sunday's game against Milwaukee. He was in the right place when it mattered here. The Padres, for their part, got a clean return from Jake Cronenworth off the injured list Monday — he had been sidelined with a concussion — but it wasn't enough to change the outcome. Chicago's pitching staff continues to operate shorthanded after Hoby Milner was placed on the IL with appendicitis, yet the Cubs found a way to piece together nine innings and come out on top.