The Toronto Blue Jays headed to historic Wrigley Field to take on the Chicago Cubs in the first of three games. The Cubs looked to have the game locked down for most of the game until George Springer tied the game in the top of the 9th, then Chicago would walk it off in the bottom of the 10th to win the first game of the series.
Yariel Rodriguez (1-4, 3.93) got the start for the Blue Jays, the right hander lasted 5 innings, giving up four runs over four hits, walking two and striking out five. Kyle Hendricks (3-10, 6.60) started for the Cubs, throwing 5 innings, giving up one run on five hits, walking none and striking out two. Both starters were given no-decisions.
The Cubs got on the board first, scoring in the bottom of the 1st. Cody Bellinger got it started with a two run shot, giving the Cubs a 2-0 lead.
The Blue Jays got a run back in the 4th, with Ernie Clement driving in a run on an infield single.
Leo Jimenez then tied it up at two in the top of the 5th with a solo shot, the second homer of his big league career.
Chicago would take the lead right back in the bottom half. Back to back home runs from Pete Crow-Armstrong and Miguel Amaya would give the Cubs a 4-2 advantage.
The Cubs would get an insurance run in the 7th, with Ian Happ hammering a solo shot to extend the Chicago lead to 5-2.
The Blue Jays however, would not go away quietly as they managed to tie the game in the top of the 9th. The Jays threatened with the bases loaded, then, Cubs reliever Hector Neris balked in Will Wagner to cut the Toronto deficit to 5-3. George Springer then came up clutch when it mattered the most, hitting a triple to drive in Joey Loperfido and Ernie Clement to tie the game at five.
The Cubs would go quietly in the bottom of the 9th and the Blue Jays wouldn’t do much either in the top of the 10th. Chad Green (3-2, 1.86) was then tasked with holding the Cubs in the bottom half of the 10th. Unfortunately for him, Seiya Suzuki walked it off with an RBI single, scoring Ian Happ and giving the Cubs a 6-5 victory in 10 innings.
Justin Steele (3-5, 3.16) will get the start for the Cubs, while Chris Bassitt (9-11, 4.30) will be tasked with shutting down Steele and the Cubs as the Blue Jays will look to even the series with a win on Saturday.
