The Chicago Cubs defeated the White Sox 4-3 on August 19.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, the hero of the previous day’s walk-off home run, also homered in his first at-bat, but the final batter was Alex Bregman.
As important as the result—consecutive walk-off wins on two straight days—is the fact that the attack did not end even after the White Sox intentionally walked Crow-Armstrong.
3-Line Summary
1. The Cubs defeated the White Sox 4-3
2. Bregman’s 9th-inning RBI hit ended it
3. The next spot in the order after an intentional walk also matters
The 9th-Inning Intentional Walk Created an Opportunity for Bregman
The game was a matchup between the White Sox and Cubs in Chicago. In the bottom of the 9th, 3-3 game, Cubs leadoff hitter Carson Kelly opened the opportunity with a double. After one out was recorded, the White Sox intentionally walked Crow-Armstrong with a runner on second and first base open. The Cubs fans booed, but given that he had hit a walk-off home run the previous day, it was a choice to avoid facing the most dangerous hitter directly.
However, the decision did not end the attack. Bregman attacked the first-pitch fastball thrown by White Sox reliever Trevor Richards. The ball went toward center field, and Kelly, who was on second, scored. It was the moment the Cubs’ 4-3 walk-off win was confirmed.
An intentional walk can be a choice made to prevent a particular batter’s extra-base hit or decisive hit. However, when it puts another runner on base, as it did that day, the next batter also comes to the plate with runners aboard. The advantage sought by avoiding Crow-Armstrong disappeared with one swing from Bregman. It is insufficient to view this scene only as the success or failure of an intentional walk. Even after the batter to avoid, the Cubs had another hitter capable of ending the game.
After the game, Bregman said that Kelly getting into scoring position first had done the difficult part. The walk-off hit is what remains most visible, but the bottom of the 9th was a sequence created by Kelly reaching base, the intentional walk, and Bregman’s hit.
After a Leadoff Home Run, Bregman Also Produced the Game-Tying Hit in the 7th
Crow-Armstrong hit a leadoff home run against White Sox left-hander Brian Hudson from the start of the game. It was his 31st of the season. Michael Busch then hit a solo home run as well, putting the Cubs ahead early. But the White Sox stayed in a close game, drawing even or moving ahead with an RBI hit by Drew Romo, a game-tying home run by Murakami, and an RBI double by Tristan Peters.
The previous day, Crow-Armstrong turned the game’s first pitch into a home run and hit a two-run walk-off home run in the 10th inning. MLB.com reported that he was the 13th player since 1900 to hit a leadoff home run in his team’s next game after hitting a walk-off home run the day before. He was the first Cubs player to do so, and it reported that this was the first instance in MLB history of a player hitting both a leadoff home run and a walk-off home run in one game, then hitting a leadoff home run in the next game. All of these records were records as of the August 19 game.
Bregman did not change the game solely with his final at-bat in the 9th. With 2 outs and 2 strikes in the 7th, he hit an RBI single to make it a 3-3 tie. That also provided the foundation for the Cubs to have a walk-off opportunity in the bottom of the 9th. If the leadoff home run created the early start, Bregman’s two RBI hits were each responsible for the tying run and the winning run.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Bregman had a batting average of 0.357, 6 home runs, 17 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.104 over his most recent 21 games before this game. However, those figures were his performance for the period through the game before this one. That day, the momentum continued with his game-tying hit in the 7th and walk-off hit in the 9th.
The 3-3 Tie That Did Not End Even After a 1 Hour 28 Minute Rain Delay
The game was suspended by rain in the middle of the 8th, with the score 3-3, for 1 hour 28 minutes. The score moved again in the bottom of the 9th after play resumed. A long delay interrupts the flow of a baseball game, but the Cubs created the necessary baserunner and hit in sequence during their final attack that day.
After allowing the first two home runs, White Sox pitcher Erick Fedde still held the Cubs’ lineup scoreless for 4 and 2/3 scoreless innings. Cubs starter Kevin Gausman left in the 5th inning because of cramping in his left thumb and hand. Neither team was able to carry the game exactly according to plan from the beginning, but the score remained within one run until the 9th.
With this win, the Cubs recorded their 13th walk-off win of the season. The Chicago Tribune reported that this matched the most in the past 90 years of Cubs seasons, alongside the 2015 team. MLB.com reported that only the 14 wins by the 1930 Cubs were more. Both figures describe the season records after this game.
The clearest moment was Bregman’s walk-off hit. But viewed in isolation, that hit obscures why the White Sox let Crow-Armstrong reach base and why the Cubs remained threatening after that choice. The 9th inning in which one batter was avoided, and the next at-bat that followed, created the substance of the consecutive walk-off wins.
References
- Chicago Tribune, City Series: Cubs walk off White Sox
- MLB.com, PCA meets young fans, then helps Cubs walk off
- Yahoo Sports, 2026 Cubs Heroes and Goats
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