Alex Bregman belted a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning and Pete Crow-Armstrong scored on an error in the 11th, fueling the host Chicago Cubs to a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.
Crow-Armstrong singled to lead off the ninth inning and Bregman deposited a 1-2 knuckle curve from Louis Varland just inside the left-field foul pole to forge a 2-2 tie. Bregman’s 12th homer of the season prevented Dylan Cease from picking up the win after he scattered two hits and struck out 10 batters over seven scoreless innings.
The blown save was the first of the season for Varland.
Crow-Armstrong’s single to center nearly won it in the 11th inning, but Carson Kelly was thrown out at the plate. Seiya Suzuki was intentionally walked and Crow-Armstrong bolted to third base on a stolen base attempt, with catcher Brandon Valenzuela’s throw sailing wide of third baseman Josh Smith. That allowed Crow-Armstrong to scamper home with the winning run.
Trent Thornton (5-4) did not allow a hit in one scoreless inning of work to earn the victory as the Cubs won their fourth straight. Brendon Little (0-3) was saddled with the loss after yielding one run on one hit in one-third of an inning.
Valenzuela came on in place of Alejandro Kirk, who recorded a career high-tying four hits.
Kirk singled in the first, third and fifth innings before his RBI single to left field scored Andres Gimenez in the seventh to give Toronto a 2-0 lead.
Gimenez had three hits and Ernie Clement added two for the Blue Jays.
Toronto opened the scoring in the first inning, albeit in unconventional fashion.
Kazuma Okamoto worked a one-out walk and advanced to third base on a single and a fielder’s choice. David Peterson unsuccessfully attempted to pick off George Springer on three occasions at first base, resulting in a disengagement violation. That allowed Okamoto to come home and Springer to advance to second base.