Chicago Cubs Snap Losing Streak, Keep Slim Division Lead With Win
The win leaves the Cubs a half-game ahead of the Brewers in the Central Division
By James Neveau ••
The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field on Wednesday night thanks to a walk-off single by Albert Almora, preserving their slim half-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in the Central Division.
The win cuts the Cubs' magic number to just four to clinch the Central Division championship.
Almora's single in the bottom of the 10th inning scored Terrance Gore, giving the Cubs a desperately needed victory.
Jason Heyward hit a two-run homer and drove in three RBI for the Cubs, and Anthony Rizzo collected a pair of hits and drove in a run in the victory.
Jose Quintana pitched five innings and gave up two earned runs, striking out four batters and walking none.
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On the first pitch of the first game of the MLB season, Ian Happ deposited a home run into the bleachers at Marlins Park to give the Cubs their first run of the year.
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Trailing 10-2 at one point, the Cubs staged an epic comeback against the Braves, scoring 12 unanswered runs, including eight in the eighth inning, to beat Atlanta by a 14-10 margin.
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In two games against the White Sox, Contreras blasted three home runs and drove in 10 RBI for the Cubs, helping them to two straight wins.
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Trailing 5-3 in the ninth inning against the Pirates, Jason Heyward stepped up to the plate and launched a grand slam into the right field bleachers to give the Cubs a 7-5 win, and he received a well-deserved Gatorade bath afterwards.
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In a game against the Brewers, Steve Cishek and Brian Duensing both got a chance to play left field and pitch in the same frame, as Joe Maddon tried to keep both relievers in the game to force Craig Counsell to leave his lineup intact.
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Anthony Rizzo has aggressively lobbied Joe Maddon to let him pitch throughout his career, and on this day against the Arizona Diamondbacks, his dream came true. Rizo pitched a third of an inning, recording an out in what was ultimately a losing effort by the Cubs.
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Just a few days after he got to pitch against the Diamondbacks, Rizzo used his bat against Arizona, stroking a walk-off home run to lead the Cubs to a 7-6 come from behind victory.
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Trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning, David Bote stepped up with the bases loaded and launched a grand slam into the center field bushes, giving the Cubs a stunning 4-3 win and prompting a wild celebration at Wrigley Field.
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Javier Baez launched one of the longest home runs of the season against the Reds, smashing a 481-foot bomb over the left-center field wall in what was ultimately a 7-1 win.
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The Cubs got more than they could have imagined from Cole Hamels when he was acquired in a trade, and his finest moment came in late August as he gave up one run and struck out seven batters in a complete game victory against the Reds.
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Bote, who became a folk hero after his walk-off grand slam against the Nationals, hit a walk-off homer in late August against the Reds that prompted one of the biggest celebrations of the season.
After the Pirates got a first inning run, the Cubs quickly seized the lead for the first time in the series when Heyward stroked a two-run home run to left field to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead.
Rizzo drove in a run in the third inning to make it 3-1, and then Kyle Schwarber coaxed a bases loaded walk to extend the Chicago advantage to three runs.
In the fourth inning, Javier Baez hit an RBI single to score Daniel Murphy, and Heyward drove in another run with a single to right-center, scoring Baez and putting the Cubs ahead 6-1.
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Javier Baez #9 of the Chicago Cubs celebrates at home plate with Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Chicago Cubs after Schwarber's two-run home run in the fourth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on June 22, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati defeated Chicago 6-3. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
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Javier Baez launched a home run in the 14th inning of the team’s game against the Cardinals, making him the first Cubs player to have a home run in the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th innings of games.
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Jason Heyward became the first Cubs player in 50 years to hit a walk-off grand slam while the team was trailing in a win over the Phillies. Just two months later, David Bote also joined him in that club.
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The Cubs scored 10 or more runs in four consecutive games, marking the first time since 1930 that they had accomplished that feat.
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Javier Baez registered 19 home runs, 72 RBI, 25 doubles, six triples, and 18 stolen bases in the first half of the season. He is only the second player in MLB history to hit all of those milestones in the first half of a season, joining Willie Mays.
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The Cubs used Tommy La Stella and Victor Caratini to pitch in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, marking the first time in modern history they’d used two position players to pitch in the same game.
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The Cubs tied a modern baseball record by turning seven double plays in a nine-inning game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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David Bote became just the third Cubs rookie to hit multiple walk-off home runs in one season, joining Gabby Hartnett and Kris Bryant.
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Tommy La Stella set a new Cubs record for pinch hits in a single season, registering his 21st hit with a single against the Phillies.
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The Cubs registered their sixth shutout over the Brewers with a win at Wrigley Field, their most against a single opponent since they blanked the Cincinnati Reds seven times in 1928.
The Pirates struck again late with two runs in the eighth inning and two more in the ninth, but Jaime Garcia was able to strand the go-ahead run at second base to keep the game tied.
The Cubs will finish their series with the Pirates on Thursday at Wrigley Field, and the Brewers will have their final off-day of the regular season.
