CHICAGO (Interstat) — The Chicago Cubs staged a stunning four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday night to defeat the Athletics 7-6 at Wrigley Field, salvaging the finale of a three-game series after dropping the first two contests.

The Cubs entered the ninth trailing 6-3 and facing Athletics reliever Joel Kuhnel, who had been tasked with closing out the game. Michael Busch started the rally with a double to left field. Alex Bregman flew out to left for the first out, but Ian Happ followed with a sharp double to right field that scored Busch, trimming the deficit to 6-4. Nico Hoerner then singled to center, sending Happ to third base. Moisés Ballesteros grounded a ball to third baseman Zack Gelof that deflected off shortstop Alika Williams, allowing Happ to score and cutting the lead to 6-5. After a pitching change, Seiya Suzuki singled to left, moving pinch-runner Kevin Alcántara to second. Dansby Swanson then singled to center, driving in Alcántara to tie the game at 6-6 and sending Suzuki to third. Pete Crow-Armstrong delivered the walk-off hit with a single to right field, scoring Suzuki and giving the Cubs a 7-6 victory.

The Athletics had built their lead with a power display. Shea Langeliers opened the scoring in the fourth inning with a solo home run to right-center, his 15th of the season. In the sixth, Alika Williams walked and Henry Bolte doubled to center, scoring Williams. After a strikeout of Nick Kurtz, Langeliers hit an inside-the-park home run to center field, his 16th, scoring Bolte as well to make it 3-0. The Athletics added three more runs in the seventh. Tyler Soderstrom homered to left-center, his eighth, and Jonah Heim followed with a solo shot to center, his third. Zack Gelof walked later in the inning but the rally stalled when the Cubs turned a force out and a pop-up.

The Cubs answered each surge. Pete Crow-Armstrong homered in the bottom of the sixth, his ninth, to put the Cubs on the board. In the seventh, Alex Bregman doubled and Ian Happ crushed a two-run home run to right, his 14th, cutting the lead to 6-3. The Cubs’ bullpen then held the Athletics scoreless over the final two innings, setting the stage for the ninth-inning comeback.

Cubs starter Shota Imanaga lasted six innings, allowing six runs on six hits and striking out five. He was not involved in the decision. Reliever Trent Thornton tossed 1.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit. Ryan Rolison earned the win, improving to 4-1, after pitching a scoreless ninth. Kuhnel took the loss, falling to 1-2. Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, including the game-winning single. Left fielder Ian Happ was 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs.

The Athletics’ offense was led by Langeliers, who homered twice and drove in three runs. Their lineup managed only seven hits overall. The Cubs out-hit the Athletics 11-7.

The game drew an announced attendance of 37,419 and lasted 2 hours, 37 minutes.

The Athletics, now 30-32 on the season, had won the first two games of this series, including a 5-4 victory in 10 innings Wednesday and a 2-1 win Tuesday. They had entered the series after dropping four of their previous five games against the Yankees and Mariners. The Cubs improved to 33-30, snapping a two-game losing streak after the two losses to Oakland.

Defensively, the Athletics turned a double play in the second inning when second baseman Jeff McNeil and shortstop Alika Williams combined to erase Moisés Ballesteros and Pedro Ramírez. The Cubs also turned a double play in the third inning when second baseman Nico Hoerner and shortstop Dansby Swanson retired Zack Gelof and Jeff McNeil.

In the ninth, the Cubs’ rally was aided by key hits in succession. After Busch’s double and Bregman’s flyout, Happ’s double was followed by Hoerner’s single, Ballesteros’ infield hit, Suzuki’s single, Swanson’s single and finally Crow-Armstrong’s single. The Athletics used three pitchers in the inning: Kuhnel, who faced three batters and allowed three runs on two hits; Mark Leiter Jr., who entered with one out and runners on second and third but allowed a single and a walk before being replaced; and a third reliever who allowed the final two singles.

Leiter Jr. had a strong outing earlier, pitching a scoreless eighth inning with no hits and two strikeouts, but could not preserve the lead in the ninth.

The Athletics will travel to Houston to face the Astros on Friday, while the Cubs will host the San Francisco Giants on Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Chicago Cubs 4, Athletics 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Cubs a 61.70 percent probability to win. The Cubs were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 13 went under the over-under line of 11.