Michael Busch started the ninth inning with a home run, Cody Bellinger hit a home run in his comeback game, and the Chicago Cubs defeated the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Bellinger had three hits after being out for two weeks. He gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead with his home run in the fourth inning against Randy Vásquez.
“I just wanted to make sure my swing was good,” Bellinger said. “It’s nice to see some positive results today.” Shota Imanaga was on track to win his fifth consecutive start before the Padres scored in the eighth inning.
He allowed a leadoff single to pinch hitter Luis Arraez, and then Jurickson Profar hit a two-run home run. This broke a streak where Cubs starters hadn’t allowed any runs in four consecutive games, which is a first in franchise history, according to team historian Ed Hartig.
The Padres had a runner on third base with two outs when second baseman Nico Hoerner made a diving catch on Xander Bogaerts’ hit, preventing another run.
The Cubs tied the game in the bottom of the eighth inning when Mike Tauchman walked, moved to third on Bellinger’s single, and scored on Christopher Morel’s sacrifice fly.
Chicago’s Héctor Neris (2-0) got out of a tough situation in the ninth inning when he got Jackson Merrill to pop out with runners on first and second.
Busch won the game in the bottom of the ninth inning when he hit the first pitch from Enyel De Los Santos (1-2) for a home run to right field. It was his first career game-ending home run, and his teammates celebrated with him as he crossed home plate.
“It was pretty special,” Busch said. “It all happened so quickly. I was just thinking about it a few minutes ago — I don’t think I’ve ever hit a walk-off home run before. It was pretty cool.”
Imanaga had another good outing, allowing two runs and seven hits, striking out eight and walking one. His ERA rose from 0.78 to 1.08 due to the home run he allowed. Profar hit a low splitter just beyond the wall.
Imanaga also escaped a jam in the sixth inning when he struck out Manny Machado and Bogaerts with runners on first and second base. He showed his excitement as he left the field, and he joked about using the crowd’s cheers as his alarm clock to wake up in the morning.
