Last Night in Baseball: Cubs Walk Off Reds For 3rd Straight Day

There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to follow themselves. Don’t worry, we’re here to help you by figuring out what you missed but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball: At this point, is it more impressive that the Chicago Cubs have pulled off three straight walk-off wins, or is it more concerning that the Cincinnati Reds couldn’t close out a late-game lead in three straight days? Indeed, after outfielder Michael Conforto hit a walk-off home run on Monday and first baseman Michael Busch hit a walk-off ground ball in the 10th inning on Tuesday, the Cubs made it three in a row on Wednesday, as Busch drew a bases-loaded, walk-off walk in the 10th to give the Cubs a 7-6 victory. In the previous inning, Cubs’ center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a game-tying two-run home run to even the score at 6-all and force extra innings, which came after a four-run top of the ninth for the Reds that included a two-run sacrifice fly from shortstop Elly De La Cruz. Elsewhere for Chicago, left fielder Ian Happ had a game-high three hits, including a two-run home run in the bottom of the first, while right fielder Seiya Suzuki and catcher Carson Kelly each drove in a run in the fourth. As for Cincinnati, De La Cruz had three RBIs on the night, while infielders Matt McLain and Spencer Steer each hit solo homers and left fielder JJ Bleday drove in a run. The Cubs have won eight in a row and are one game behind the Atlanta Braves for the best record in the sport, while the Reds have lost six in a row and are now in last place in the National League Central. The Tampa Bay Rays have won 66.7% of their games. In beating the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday, 3-0, Tampa Bay finished off a three-game sweep of its American League East rival and is now 24-12, which is good for the fourth-best record in the big leagues and just a half-game behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Moreover, the Rays have won 12 of their last 13 games. As for Wednesday’s win, the Rays rode left-hander Shane McClanahan, who gave up just three baserunners (two hits and one walk) over 5 ⅔ shutout innings. Tampa Bay outfielders Jonny DeLuca and Chandler Simpson each drove in runs in the bottom of the fourth, with DeLuca bringing in another run on an eighth-inning ground out. One bright spot for the Blue Jays, who are tied for last place in the AL East at 16-21, is rookie third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, who doubled in the loss and has hit five home runs over his last six games. The Washington Nationals gave up 11 runs to the Minnesota Twins in Game 1 of a three-game series in Washington, D.C.; they responded to that beating in emphatic fashion on Wednesday night. A night where Washington hit four home runs and tallied 14 hits saw them beat Minnesota, 15-2, which marked the Nationals’ largest margin of victory this season (13 runs). Those long balls came from catcher Drew Millas and infielders Brady House and CJ Abrams — who hit a grand slam as part of a seven-run eighth inning and finished with a game-high three hits, which were all extra-base knocks — and designated hitter Jose Tena. Furthermore, all four of the aforementioned players, as well as outfielders James Wood and Jacob Young, each had multi-hit performances. On the mound, Nationals starter Miles Mikolas surrendered just two runs over 5 ⅓ innings, with left-hander Mitchell Parker and right-hander Zak Kent proceeding to pitch 3 ⅔ perfect innings in relief of the veteran starter. Minnesota starter Bailey Ober was able to get through the fifth inning, but the bullpen forked over 10 runs across the ensuing three innings, with every reliever that entered the game giving up at least one run. Washington’s pitching staff is 28th in MLB with a 4.82 ERA, but its offense is fourth in runs (198) and tied for eighth in hits (308). Put it all together, and a 17-20 mark sounds about right. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages is off to a good start. Correction: Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages is off to an MVP-caliber start. Pages finished the rubber match of the Dodgers’ three-game series against the Houston Astros with three hits; they were all home runs. Pages had a game-high six RBIs in what was a 12-2 win for Los Angeles. Granted, his last home run came against Astros’ catcher César Salazar in the top of the ninth. Nevertheless, the Dodgers’ center fielder has now totaled eight home runs, a National League-high 33 RBIs, six stolen bases and 2.4 wins above replacement this season, while boasting a .336/.376/.569 slash line. As for how the Dodgers got their other six runs, they had three runs off wild pitches from Astros’ starter Lance McCullers Jr., an RBI double from first baseman Freddie Freeman and RBI singles from designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and second baseman Alex Freeland. All that said, the Dodgers’ bullpen was as vital as Pages and the collective offensive outing. After right-hander Tyler Glasnow was removed from the game due to back pain after the first inning, the team’s relief corps gave up just one run over eight innings. It appears that a trip out West was just what the New York Mets needed. On the heels of winning two out of three on the road against the Los Angeles Angels last weekend, New York secured a second consecutive series win on Wednesday night, beating the Colorado Rockies in Denver for a second consecutive game, this time by a score of 10-5 (the Mets won 4-2 on Monday, but Tuesday’s matchup was snowed out). Left fielder Juan Soto led off the game for the Mets with a solo home run. Staying on the home run front, second baseman Marcus Semien — who had a game-high four hits — hit a two-run shot in the top of the ninth. The Mets finished the game with 15 hits, as eight of nine starters recorded a hit and six players had multi-hit nights: Semien, fellow infielders Bo Bichette and Brett Baty, outfielders MJ Melendez and Carson Benge and designated hitter Francisco Alvarez. While he threw 91 pitches, Mets’ right-hander Freddy Peralta pitched five scoreless innings. New York is now 14-22, good for being five-and-a-half games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the third NL wild-card seed. The Pittsburgh Pirates have this starting pitcher named “Paul Skenes”; he’s very good at pitching. And on Wednesday night, the defending NL Cy Young Award winner had arguably his best start of the season, as Skenes threw eight shutout innings and posted seven strikeouts, while surrendering just two baserunners (two hits) on the road against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Left-hander Gregory Soto then shut the door in the ninth inning for Pittsburgh. Ironically, the D-backs blanked the Pirates on Tuesday night, 9-0. While Pittsburgh returned the favor in that regard, it only scored one run, as second baseman Brandon Lowe’s first-inning solo home run would account for all the game’s runs, that being a 1-0 Pirates victory. On the season, Skenes owns a 2.36 ERA, an NL-best 0.71 WHIP, 46 strikeouts, an 181 ERA+ and 1.5 wins above replacement over 42.0 innings pitched (eight starts). Skenes’ gem in the desert was his longest start of the year and third shutout in his last four outings. Nathan Eovaldi made a Yankees’ offense that leads MLB with 61 home runs look pedestrian. Taking the hill for Game 2 of the Texas Rangers’ three-game set in the Bronx, Eovaldi pitched eight innings, recording eight strikeouts and surrendering just one run and three baserunners (three hits). And the Rangers hit for the right-hander, as shortstop Corey Seager blasted a solo home run in the top of the first and drove in two runs on the night, while center fielder Evan Carter hit a two-run shot in the third as part of a three-run inning for Texas; second baseman Ezequiel Durán also drove in two runs, while first baseman Jake Burger had two hits in what was a 6-1 win for the Rangers. Eovaldi, who had a 1.73 ERA over 22 starts in 2025, recorded a 5.79 ERA over his first six starts this season. Now, over his last two outings, Eovaldi has given up a combined one run and one walk over 15.0 innings pitched, which were both victories against the Yankees. The only run New York scored in those two games? A solo home run from three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge in the bottom of the sixth on Wednesday night. The Boston Red Sox had their way with the Detroit Tigers this week. After a come-from-behind victory on Monday and a 10-run showing on Tuesday, the Red Sox finished off a sweep of the Tigers in Detroit on Wednesday, getting a 4-0 win. Right-hander Sonny Gray pitched five shutout innings in what was his first start since returning from the injured list due to a hamstring injury, an effort which Boston’s bullpen followed with four shutout innings. As for the bats, third baseman Caleb Durbin drove in the first run of the game on an RBI double in the top of the third. Two batters later, first baseman Willson Contreras drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. The following inning, Boston took a 4-0 lead after catcher Carlos Narváez drove in a pair of runs on a ground ball that got past third baseman Colt Keith. The Red Sox outscored the Tigers in the series, 19-7. The Seattle Mariners got their most impressive series win of the year this week. Right-hander Bryan Woo pitched six shutout innings, logging nine strikeouts and giving up just three baserunners (two walks and one hit) en route to a 3-1 win for the Mariners over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, helping Seattle take two out of three against Atlanta, which has the best record in the sport (26-12). Leading 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth, star outfielder Julio Rodriguez created the needed separation for Seattle with a solo home run to center field. The homer was hit at 110.4 mph and traveled 436 feet, which were both season-highs for Rodriguez. Seattle’s other two runs came on an RBI groundout from catcher Cal Raleigh in the third and an RBI double from second baseman Cole Young in the eighth. Atlanta’s one run came on a sacrifice fly from Dominic Smith in the top of the eighth. While they still have a losing record, the Mariners’ 18-20 mark has them just one game behind the Athletics for first place in the AL West. The Athletics had the Philadelphia Phillies on the ropes in the bottom of the eighth, but then the latter woke up in a big way. Trailing 3-2 with one out in the penultimate inning of play, Philadelphia got two of the first three batters of the inning on-base. Then, infielder Edmundo Sosa brought in two runs with a single up the middle, giving the Phillies a 4-3 lead. Two batters later, outfielder Brandon Marsh drove in a run on an RBI single and Justin Crawford later drove in another run on a ground out. The A’s made it interesting in the top of the ninth, as they loaded the bases and brought the go-ahead run to the plate, but Phillies reliever Brad Keller evaded the catastrophe and finished off a 6-3 win. As for the rest of the game, right-hander Zack Wheeler made his third start of the year for the Phillies, giving up three runs over 6 ⅓ innings, while left fielder Felix Reyes drove in a run on a ground out in the fifth and right fielder Adolis Garcia hit a solo home run in the sixth; the A’s got their three runs off a solo home run from left fielder Tyler Soderstrom and RBI singles from Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz. Philadelphia has won eight of its last nine games.