Blue Jays Erase Five-Run Hole to Stun Cubs 8-6 on Road
TOR def. CHC · June 20, 2026 · Final: Jays 8, Cubs 6
Toronto trailed 5-0 heading into the seventh inning at Wrigley Field, a deficit that had the Blue Jays' win probability sitting at 3.1 percent. What came next was a rally built hit by hit, inning by inning.
Chicago had done the early damage in the bottom of the second, when Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw hit a three-run homer to put Toronto in a 3-0 hole. The Cubs extended that lead in the bottom of the sixth, when Pete Crow-Armstrong's two-run shot pushed it to 5-0.
Toronto's answer started in the top of the seventh. Blue Jays center fielder Daulton Varsho connected on a fly ball to right field, a three-run home run that scored Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Kazuma Okamoto and cut the deficit to 5-3.
The Blue Jays kept coming in the top of the eighth. Pinch-hitter Alejandro Kirk grounded a single to left, scoring Myles Straw to make it 5-4. Guerrero Jr. — Toronto's first baseman — then lined a single to center, scoring George Springer to tie it at 5-5.
That set the stage for Okamoto. Toronto's third baseman drove a fly ball to left center for a three-run home run, scoring Yohendrick Piñango and Guerrero Jr. and putting the Blue Jays ahead 8-5.
Chicago got one back in the bottom of the eighth on a Nico Hoerner forceout that scored Miguel Amaya, trimming it to 8-6. Toronto held from there.
Final: Toronto Blue Jays 8, Chicago Cubs 6.
The Comeback
- Largest deficit
- 5 runs — in the bottom of the 6th
- Win-probability nadir
- 3.1% (down 5 in the bottom of the 6th)
- Lead flipped for good
- top of the 8th
- Lead changes
- 1
- Final
- TOR 8, CHC 6 — won by 2
Scoring Summary
| Inn. | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| B2 | Matt Shaw homers (4) on a fly ball to left field. Alex Bregman scores. Ian Happ scores. | 0-3 |
| B6 | Pete Crow-Armstrong homers (16) on a fly ball to right field. Dansby Swanson scores. | 0-5 |
| T7 | Daulton Varsho homers (6) on a fly ball to right field. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. scores. Kazuma Okamoto scores. | 3-5 |
| T8 | Alejandro Kirk singles on a ground ball to left fielder Ian Happ. Myles Straw scores. George Springer to 2nd. | 4-5 |
| T8 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singles on a line drive to center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. George Springer scores. Yohendrick Piñango to 2nd. | 5-5 |
| T8 | Kazuma Okamoto homers (16) on a fly ball to left center field. Yohendrick Piñango scores. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. scores. | 8-5 |
| B8 | Nico Hoerner grounds into a force out, shortstop Ernie Clement to second baseman Davis Schneider. Miguel Amaya scores. Dansby Swanson to 3rd. Pete Crow-Armstrong out at 2nd. Nico Hoerner to 1st. | 8-6 |
Box score
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Line score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 2 |
| CHC | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
TORWinning team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George SpringerDH | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .223 |
| Vladimir Guerrero Jr.1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .279 |
| Brandon ValenzuelaC | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .261 |
| Kazuma Okamoto3B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .229 |
| Daulton VarshoCF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | .256 |
| Davis Schneider2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .165 |
| Ernie ClementSS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .292 |
| Myles StrawLF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .242 |
| Nathan LukesRF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .306 |
| Alejandro KirkPH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .200 |
| Andrés GiménezSS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .232 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Corbin | 3.2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 101 |
| Lazaro Estrada | 2.1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 32 |
| Jeff Hoffman | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
| Mason Fluharty | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
| Louis Varland | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 28 |
CHCLosing team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Crow-ArmstrongCF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | .286 |
| Nico Hoerner2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .235 |
| Seiya SuzukiDH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .269 |
| Michael Busch1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .247 |
| Alex Bregman3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| Ian HappLF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .228 |
| Matt ShawRF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .252 |
| Pedro RamírezPH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .270 |
| Dansby SwansonSS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .183 |
| Miguel AmayaC | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .225 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colin Rea | 5.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 78 |
| Ryan Rolison | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Trent Thornton | 0.2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| Caleb Thielbar | 0.1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| Jacob Webb | 0.2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 27 |
| Ethan Roberts | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |