CHICAGO -- Pete Crow-Armstrong was already across the third-base chalk and sprinting across the infield grass when Cubs utility man Vidal Bruj¨¢n was sliding across the plate. Ian Happ rounded first, turned to face the Cubs¡¯ dugout with his arms hoisted skyward, and Crow-Armstrong arrived to set the party in motion.
¡°I couldn¡¯t believe it,¡± Happ said. ¡°I turned around and I couldn¡¯t believe he was already there. He was running faster than Bruj¨¢n.¡±
Happ¡¯s walk-off single in the 10th inning on Tuesday night was the final exclamation point in a wild 11-10 win over the Dodgers at Wrigley Field. He tossed his helmet into the air as Crow-Armstrong wrapped his arms around the left fielder -- both soon swallowed in the mob of celebrating North Siders.
The season is only 25 games young for the Cubs, but they have already made a habit of these rollercoaster victories. It was just Friday that Chicago outlasted the D-backs in a classic 13-11 comeback win that rocked the Friendly Confines. That game -- like Tuesday -- featured the kind of gut-punch moments that can deflate a team and erase hope of momentum.
This Cubs squad, which hopes to end the franchise¡¯s four-year postseason drought, is showing an early knack for resiliency.
¡°We don¡¯t quit here,¡± Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya said. ¡°If they score five, we¡¯re ready to score one per inning. The mentality here is to go out there and compete every single pitch. That¡¯s what has been helping us.¡±
Consider that the Dodgers had a 96 percent win probability with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, when they held a 10-9 lead with closer Tanner Scott on the mound. That was until he fired a 97.3 mph fastball in the heart of the zone and Amaya pounced on the 0-1 pitch, sending it high over left-center field.
Amaya believed it was gone off the bat -- until he saw center fielder Tommy Edman slowing at the warning track for a possible catch attempt. The catcher began running faster, while the rest of his teammates watched and the Wrigley Field crowd held a collective gasp.
¡°You¡¯re just waiting on it, waiting on it, waiting on it,¡± Happ said.
The old ballpark shook when the baseball dropped into the famous basket atop the wall, pulling the game into a 10-10 tie. Per Statcast, the ball Amaya hit would only be a home run at Wrigley Field.
¡°Love those basket-balls,¡± Amaya said with a smile.
Amaya said the crowd¡¯s energy only helped the moment.
¡°I haven¡¯t been in the playoffs,¡± said the catcher. ¡°But guys that have been in the playoffs, they say this is kind of like a playoff environment.¡±
That blast from Amaya came one inning after Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker launched a two-run homer off Alex Vesia that cut Los Angeles¡¯ lead to 10-9. That helped Chicago continue to chip away after the Dodgers poured out six runs across the sixth and seventh frames.
That push by L.A. effectively erased the initial comeback by the Cubs, who answered a three-run opening frame by the Dodgers with a five-spot in the bottom of the first against righty Dustin May. Crow-Armstrong -- a triple shy of a cycle in the win -- later belted a two-run homer in the fifth, and the Cubs had their own win probability up to 90 percent by the sixth.
The odds swiftly swung the opposite way, but this Cubs group is starting to expect the next comeback is just around the corner.
¡°It¡¯s fantastic for confidence,¡± Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga said (via his interpreter, Edwin Stanberry) after being charged with five runs (two earned) in 5 2/3 innings. ¡°We¡¯ve won these games. When it happens in the future when we¡¯re down, in the dugout, I think the team is just going to be like, ¡®Hey, we¡¯ve been here before. We can do it again.¡¯¡±
Cubs manager Craig Counsell echoed that sentiment.
¡°You win games like that early in the season,¡± Counsell said, ¡°it¡¯s a great carry-forward for the rest of the season. We did a heck of a job against a very good baseball team.¡±
Counsell highlighted the three combined innings by relievers Gavin Hollowell and Porter Hodge, who held the Dodgers at bay across the eighth, ninth and 10th. The manager said unsung performances like that ¡°give you a chance for the magic to happen.¡±
That magic arrived via the two-run homer from Tucker, the two-out blast from Amaya and a first-pitch single to win it from Happ.
¡°It¡¯s a fun team to watch play,¡± Counsell said. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯d tell you: Come out to the park and watch the team play. This homestand, they¡¯ve done some amazing things and some resilient things, most importantly.¡±