Last night’s game at Wrigley Field had an air of playoff baseball from the early innings. Perhaps it was a throwback to the last time the San Diego Padres played at Wrigley Field during the Wild Card round in 2025. Or maybe it was that both the Cubs and the Padres find themselves squarely in the Wild Card hunt, more games than they’d like behind their respective division leaders, but still solidly over .500 as the calendar flips to July. It was probably amplified by the wind blowing out and one of the first truly hot days of summer. Every pitch felt like it could travel over the wall and break the game wide open.
But of course, that’s not how it went down. On a night that felt like it was destined for a high scoring affair, the Cubs and Padres battled to a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Padres tried to eke a bit more out of Jason Adam, letting him face a red hot Pete Crow-Armstrong who hit a flare of a single to left field. Then they brought in Mason Miller: their closer who throws well over 100 miles per hour, striking out more than 50 percent of the batters he’s faced in 2026 and just generally setting the standard for relief pitchers. It turns out even Mason Miller is human [VIDEO].
Seiya Suzuki sent the crowd at Wrigley Field into a frenzy as he hit a towering fly ball off the ivy, just out of the grasp of leftfielder Jase Bowen.
It was the Cubs’ 10th walkoff victory of the season. Despite the injury woes and staring down a superior Padres bullpen, the 2026 Cubs found a way. The win took them to 47-38 on the season, keeping pace in the division, 5.5 games back of the Brewers. That 10th walkoff win is the most the Cubs have had in a season since 13 walkoffs in 2015:
As we wait for tonight’s action from the corner of Clark and Addison, I wanted to look back on a few of the excellent walkoffs the Cubs have had so far this year. My top three are below, but feel free to add your favorites in the comments.
3. Pete Crow-Armstrong’s redemption
It’s been hard to find a hotter hitter in baseball than Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong in the month of June. PCA has been firing on all cylinders since late May, but part of what makes him so fun to cheer for is his humanity. He pulls off superhuman feats in the outfield and rakes at the plate, but he’s human and makes mistakes like all of us. Like allowing this inside the park home run I’m sure he’d rather forget [VIDEO].
But baseball has a funny way of writing its own dramatic endings. A sense of poetry all its own, and on June 4th, PCA was given the ultimate shot at redemption in the ninth inning [VIDEO].
When Anthony Rizzo goes tarps off during the game, you have to deliver [VIDEO]:
2. Seiya last night
Don’t get me wrong, a walkoff is a walkoff. They are all great in their own way. But the playoff atmosphere combined with Seiya making contact off of one of the best pitchers in baseball was pure vibes. It added to the drama that Seiya had struggled head to head against Miller:
After all, who wouldn’t struggle to make contact against a guy who throws 102 on the corners? But last night, Miller threw mostly sliders rather than his patented heat. He threw seven pitches, only one fastball. Both Alex Bregman and Seiya were ready for the offspeed pitches. The post-game celebration was pure joy [VIDEO].
1. Michael Conforto walks off the Reds
One of the strangest success stories for the Cubs this season has been Michael Conforto. The 33-year-old grabbed the last outfield spot on the bench out of Spring Training, which was honestly a bit of a surprise given Dylan Carlson’s hot spring and his ability to play center field. But Conforto has delivered as a pinch hitter, a part-time role player, really whatever role Craig Counsell has asked him to play.
On May fourth Conforto helped the Cubs continue their second 10-game winning streak of the season when he sent this Emilio pitch into the left field bleachers for his first career walkoff home run [VIDEO].
It’s hard to believe that it’s still June and we’ve already had 10 magical walkoff nights at the baseball cathedral at the corner of Clark and Addison. Maybe that’s just what happens when a talented team is beset by injuries but keeps finding ways to fly the W. Share your favorite walkoff moments in the comments below.
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