CHICAGO (Interstat) — The Chicago Cubs rallied for a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to edge the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Monday, June 29, 2026, at Wrigley Field before 37,607 fans in a game that lasted 3 hours, 11 minutes.

The victory pushed the Cubs to 46-38 on the season, while the Padres dropped to 43-40.

Trent Thornton earned the win, his second against two losses, tossing a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit and striking out one. Jason Adam took the loss, also falling to 2-2, after surrendering the decisive run in the bottom of the ninth.

Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga turned in a solid start, going 6 1/3 innings, allowing nine hits and two earned runs while striking out four. He left with the score tied 2-2.

The most crucial sequence occurred in the bottom of the ninth with the game deadlocked. Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson led off with a single to third baseman Manny Machado. Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong followed with a single to left fielder Jase Bowen, moving Swanson to second. Third baseman Alex Bregman then singled to center fielder Jackson Merrill, loading the bases with no outs.

First baseman Michael Busch hit a fly ball to left field that appeared to be a sacrifice opportunity, but left fielder Jase Bowen caught the ball and fired home to catcher Freddy Fermin, who tagged out Swanson trying to score. The double play left Crow-Armstrong at third and Bregman at second with two outs. Right fielder Seiya Suzuki then delivered the game-winning hit, a single to left fielder Bowen that scored Crow-Armstrong and gave the Cubs a 3-2 lead.

The Padres had grabbed an early advantage in the third inning. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts singled and catcher Freddy Fermin singled, putting runners at first and second. Second baseman Jake Cronenworth sacrificed them over, and right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring Bogaerts from third while Fermin was thrown out at third. Left fielder Samad Taylor singled, but Machado grounded out to end the inning with the Padres leading 1-0.

San Diego added another run in the fourth. Left fielder Miguel Andujar hit a ground-rule double, first baseman Ty France singled, and after a strikeout, Bogaerts doubled to left, scoring Andujar. France advanced to third but was left stranded as Fermin and Cronenworth made outs.

The Cubs answered in the bottom of the fourth. Right fielder Michael Conforto singled to right, driving in Seiya Suzuki, who had doubled, cutting the Padres’ lead to 2-1. Chicago tied the game in the fifth. Swanson doubled, and after a popout and a walk to Bregman, Busch walked to load the bases. Suzuki sacrificed to center, scoring Swanson. Ian Happ struck out to end the inning with the score 2-2.

Both teams had chances to break the tie. In the top of the eighth, Machado walked, Andujar lined out, France flied out, and Merrill singled, putting runners at first and third with two outs. Reliever Caleb Thielbar intentionally walked Bogaerts to load the bases, but Fermin flied out to end the threat. The Cubs went down in order in the bottom of the eighth.

The Padres put a runner on in the top of the ninth when Tatis Jr. singled with one out, but Gavin Sheets struck out to end the inning.

Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong finished 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored, including the game-winner. Bregman went 2-for-4 with two singles. Swanson also collected two hits in four at-bats, including a double. Conforto drove in the Cubs’ first run with a single, going 1-for-4.

For the Padres, Andujar had two hits, including a double, and scored a run. Bogaerts doubled and drove in a run. Tatis Jr. singled twice but struck out twice. Cronenworth was 0-for-3 with a sacrifice. Samad Taylor struck out three times in four at-bats.

The Padres outhit the Cubs 11-10, but left nine runners on base compared to the Cubs’ six.

The series continues Tuesday night as the Padres and Cubs play the second game of their three-game set at Wrigley Field. San Diego then travels to Los Angeles for four games against the Dodgers, while Chicago returns home to host St. Louis before a road trip to Baltimore and Cincinnati.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Chicago Cubs 7, San Diego Padres 5. Interstat’s ELO system had given the Cubs a 54.90 percent probability to win. Chicago was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total combined score of five runs went over the over/under line of 12.