Seiya Suzuki hit a game-ending single in the 10th inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-5, on Friday in Chicago. Ian Happ began the 10th on second as the automatic runner. Chad Green (3-3) walked Michael Busch before Suzuki lined a 2-2 pitch into left field .
Happ scored easily to give Chicago a sorely needed victory after it blew a 5-2 lead in the ninth. The Cubs had dropped three in a row in a sweep at Cleveland. Happ, Cody Bellinger, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Miguel Amaya homered for Chicago, and Tyson Miller (4-1) pitched a scoreless inning for the win.
Prior to his walk-off hit, Suzuki was hitless in four attempts at the plate. The Japanese-born outfielder said he tried to harness his frustration in his final at-bat. “Today, I was mad at myself, so I kind of channeled that,” Suzuki said through an interpreter.
“I’m glad the results were good, but moving forward, I’ll try not to be mad at myself. I was frustrated in past at-bats, but for the last at-bat, I was able to stay calm.” Despite the near collapse, Cubs manager Craig Counsell was quick to defend reliever Héctor Neris, who gave up Chicago’s three-run advantage in the ninth.
Counsell cited the win as the game’s most important takeaway. “No one likes to give up runs,” Counsell said. “Héctor did today.
He gave up the lead, but he kept it there and we got the job done. And that’s a win, that’s the big thing. It’d be great to pick how every win (is) and make them beautiful, but a win’s a win.
” Last-place Toronto had won three in a row and five of seven overall. It was coming off a three-game sweep at the Angels. The Blue Jays were down 5-2 when they loaded the bases against Neris with one out in the ninth.
Will Wagner scored on a balk before Leo Jiménez struck out swinging. George Springer followed with a tying triple off the wall in left. Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks allowed two runs, one earned, and five hits in five innings.
He credited his success on the mound Friday to his in-game adjustments. “(We) just saw them kind of sitting soft, in a way,” Hendricks said. “We didn’t think we were going to have a lot of room in on a lot of these guys, but we really had to start pounding fastballs in.
Made the adjustment, saw the swings from there and kind of opened up the zone.” Pirates 5, Mariners 3 — At Pittsburgh: Paul Skenes struck out six and ended a four-start winless streak, and Pittsburgh snapped a 10-game skid with a win over Seattle. Rays 5, Diamondbacks 4 — At St.
Petersburg, Fla.: Jonny DeLuca scored on an error in the ninth inning and Tampa Bay beat Arizona to end the Diamondbacks’ season-high winning streak at six games. Royals 7, Reds 1 — At Cincinnati: Bobby Witt Jr.
homered, doubled and singled to boost his major league-leading average to .352, Michael Lorenzen pitched into the sixth inning to get his first win since being traded and Kansas City beat Cincinnati. Brewers 5, Guardians 3 — At Milwaukee: Willy Adames blasted his 22nd home run, a three-run first inning shot, Aaron Civale pitched six scoreless innings and Milwaukee beat Cleveland in an interleague matchup between Central Division leaders.
american league Yankees 3, Tigers 0 — At Detroit: Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 44th home run and Gerrit Cole struck out eight in six innings as New York beat Detroit. national league Dodgers 7, Cardinals 6 — At St. Louis: Kevin Kiermaier drove in four runs, including a three-run homer during the Dodgers’ five-run sixth inning as Los Angeles rallied to beat St.
Louis. Phillies 3, Nationals 2 — At Philadelphia: Trea Turner hit a bases-loaded single to the base of the wall over a drawn-in outfield in the bottom of the ninth and Philadelphia beat Washington after the Nationals tied the game with two runs in the top of the inning. Mets 7, Marlins 3 — At New York: Brandon Nimmo broke out of his slump with a three-run homer and Jeff McNeil launched a two-run shot, powering New York to a win over Miami.
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