SAN DIEGO (Interstat) — The Chicago Cubs broke open a close game with a four-run seventh inning and beat the San Diego Padres 8-3 on Tuesday night at PETCO Park before 40,106 fans in 2 hours 54 minutes.

Edward Cabrera worked 5 2/3 innings for the win, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out seven. He improved to 3-0. Kyle Hart took the loss, his first decision in 2026, after giving up four runs in relief.

The Cubs, now 18-12, evened the two-game series after losing 9-7 on Monday. The Padres fell to 19-10.

Chicago struck first in the second inning. Ian Happ and Michael Busch drew walks off Padres starter Walker Buehler. With two outs, Dansby Swanson ripped a double to center field, scoring both runners for a 2-0 lead.

San Diego answered in the bottom half when Xander Bogaerts launched a solo home run to left field, his fifth of the season. The Padres cut the lead to 2-1.

Chicago threatened in the third but came away empty. Seiya Suzuki singled and Happ reached on an error by first baseman Ty France, but Buehler escaped with no damage.

The Padres tied the game in the fourth. Bogaerts walked, and France singled to center, driving in Bogaerts to make it 2-2.

The Cubs regained the lead in the sixth. With Hart now pitching, Carson Kelly singled and moved to second on a force out. Pete Crow-Armstrong walked, and after a strikeout, Nico Hoerner doubled to center, scoring both runners for a 4-2 advantage.

San Diego cut the deficit to one in the bottom half. Ty France singled, advanced to second on a hit batter, and scored on a single by Luis Campusano, making it 4-3. Cabrera got the final out of the inning on a strikeout, ending his night.

The decisive moment came in the seventh. Suzuki walked and moved to second on a groundout. Busch was hit by a pitch. After a force out left runners at first and third with two outs, Alex Bregman singled to right field, scoring Suzuki to make it 5-3. Crow-Armstrong then launched a three-run homer to center field, his second of the season, scoring Kelly and Bregman and pushing the lead to 8-3.

Crow-Armstrong finished 1 for 4 with the home run and three RBIs. Hoerner went 1 for 5 with two RBIs. Swanson was 1 for 1 with two RBIs on his pinch-hit double.

For the Padres, Bogaerts went 1 for 3 with a home run, a walk and one RBI. France was 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Buehler threw 4 2/3 innings for San Diego, allowing two runs on three hits with four strikeouts. He did not factor in the decision.

The Cubs bullpen held the Padres scoreless over the final 3 1/3 innings. Hoby Milner tossed 1 1/3 perfect innings with one strikeout. Ryan Rolison worked two hitless innings, striking out two. Ron Marinaccio pitched two scoreless innings for the Padres, allowing one hit.

Chicago sent eight batters to the plate in the seventh inning. The Cubs finished with eight hits, the Padres with six.

The game featured a total of 11 runs, which was under the over/under line of 7.5 set by oddsmakers. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of 8-7 in favor of Chicago. Interstat’s ELO system had given San Diego a 52.00 percent probability to win. The Cubs were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5.