CHICAGO (Interstat) — In a stunning reversal of fortune, the Chicago Cubs erased a six-run deficit to walk off with a 7-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday evening at a sold-out Wrigley Field, salvaging the final game of their three-game series.

A crowd of 35,711 watched as the Cubs, held largely in check for seven innings, erupted for two runs in the eighth to tie the game before winning it in the bottom of the ninth on Carson Kelly’s clutch single. The comeback handed the Pirates a devastating loss after they had dominated the early innings.

The game’s most critical sequence unfolded in the bottom of the eighth, transforming a contest that had been controlled by Pittsburgh. Trailing 6-4, the Cubs mounted a two-out rally against Pirates reliever José Urquidy. After Seiya Suzuki walked and two strikeouts, Dansby Swanson worked another walk to keep the inning alive. Pinch-hitter Michael Busch then lined a single to left field, scoring both Suzuki and Swanson to knot the game at 6-6. The play was compounded by a throwing error from Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds, which allowed Busch to advance to second, though he was stranded.

The Pirates had built their commanding lead almost entirely on the bat of second baseman Brandon Lowe. Oneil Cruz launched a solo home run, his fifth of the year, on the game’s fourth pitch from Cubs starter Jameson Taillon. The real damage came in the second inning. After Taillon loaded the bases with a single and two free passes, Lowe crushed a grand slam to right-center field, his fourth homer of the season, to stake Pittsburgh to a 5-0 lead. Lowe added a solo shot in the fifth, his fifth, to finish 2 for 4 with five RBIs.

Pirates starter Bubba Chandler was effective, navigating 5 1/3 innings and allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out four. He surrendered solo homers to Dansby Swanson and Moisés Ballesteros in the third inning and an RBI sacrifice fly to Alex Bregman in the fifth, but he left with a 6-3 lead.

The Cubs began their methodical climb back in the seventh. Swanson walked, advanced to third on a Nico Hoerner double, and scored on a Bregman infield fly to cut the deficit to 6-4. That set the stage for the eighth-inning heroics from Busch.

In the ninth, facing Pirates reliever Hunter Barco, Michael Conforto led off with a double. After a Bregman single put runners on the corners with one out, the Pirates nearly escaped. Ian Happ grounded into a forceout at second, but Suzuki worked a walk to reload the bases for Kelly. On a 1-1 count, Kelly lined a single into center field, scoring pinch-runner Scott Kingery and triggering a celebration at home plate.

Daniel Palencia earned the win for Chicago, pitching a scoreless top of the ninth with two strikeouts. Urquidy took the loss for Pittsburgh, charged with the two deciding runs in the eighth. Taillon had a bizarre line for the Cubs, striking out 10 over six innings but yielding all six Pirates runs on six hits, including three homers.

The victory improved the Cubs’ record to 7-8, while the Pirates fell to 9-6. The result defied the pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had predicted a 6-4 Pirates win, though the Cubs had been installed as 1.5-run favorites by oddsmakers. The 13 total runs combined went under the over/under line of 12.5.

Pittsburgh, which had won the first two games of the series in low-scoring fashion, heads home to open a four-game set with the Washington Nationals on Monday. The Cubs embark on a road trip, starting a three-game series in Philadelphia on Monday.