Dansby Swanson delivered the tying single and Pete Crow-Armstrong followed with the game-winning hit as the Chicago Cubs scored four times in the bottom of the ninth inning to post a 7-6 victory over the visiting Athletics on Thursday night.
Crow-Armstrong also hit a solo homer and Ian Happ slammed a two-run blast and had three RBIs for the Cubs, who won for just the fourth time in their past 18 games.
Shea Langeliers hit two homers, including an inside-the-parker, for the Athletics. Tyler Soderstrom and Jonah Heim also went deep for the A’s, who were unable to sweep the three-game series.
Joel Kuhnel (1-2) failed to protect a three-run lead in the ninth for the A’s. Michael Busch delivered a leadoff double and scored on Happ’s hard-hit, one-out double as Chicago pulled within 6-4. Nico Hoerner followed with a single to put runners on the corners.
Hoerner was gunned out trying to steal second for the second out. Moises Ballesteros followed with an infield single that scored Happ, and then pinch hitter Seiya Suzuki singled to left.
Swanson singled to center off Luis Medina to knot the score at 6. Crow-Armstrong followed with a softly hit single to right to score Suzuki and end the contest.
Ryan Rolison (4-1) struck out three in 1 2/3 hitless innings for Chicago.
J.T. Ginn gave up one run and two hits over six innings for the Athletics. He struck out eight and walked one.
Shota Imanaga served up a career-worst four homers in six-plus innings for Chicago. He gave up six runs, six hits and one walk while striking out five.
The game was scoreless until the fourth when Langeliers went the opposite way with a drive that landed in the basket in right-center, barely above the ivy-draped wall.
In the sixth, the Athletics’ Alika Williams drew a one-out walk and scored on Henry Bolte’s double into the gap in left-center.
Langeliers came up with two outs and lofted a fly ball to center that Crow-Armstrong lost. Crow-Armstrong stood with both arms extended as the ball landed approximately 30 feet behind him. Langeliers never stopped running and circled the bases for the inside-the-parker.
Crow-Armstrong got Chicago on the board in the bottom of the sixth when he slammed an 0-2 slider from Ginn into the seats in right.
Soderstrom hit the fifth pitch of the seventh from Imanaga over the wall in left-center. Two pitches later, Heim blasted a homer to center to give the Athletics a 6-1 lead.
The Cubs answered off reliever Scott Barlow in the seventh as Alex Bregman led off with a double and Happ followed with a massive 446-foot shot to right.
–Field Level Media
