BALTIMORE (Interstat) — Pete Crow-Armstrong homered twice and sparked a five-run seventh inning that carried the Chicago Cubs to a 9-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

A crowd of 18,935 watched the Cubs improve to 52-40 while the Orioles fell to 42-51. The game lasted 2 hours, 55 minutes.

Colin Rea earned the win, his seventh against five losses, allowing three earned runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings. Dean Kremer took the loss, dropping to 1-2 after surrendering four earned runs on six hits in five innings. Jacob Webb notched his fourth save with a scoreless ninth, striking out none and allowing no hits.

The decisive outburst came in the seventh, when the Cubs broke a 4-3 lead wide open. Carson Kelly led off with a walk and Dansby Swanson singled. Crow-Armstrong walked to load the bases. Alex Bregman lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Kelly. Michael Busch walked to reload the bases. Seiya Suzuki then crushed a three-run homer to left, his 14th, scoring Crow-Armstrong and Busch and making it 9-3.

Baltimore chipped away with two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth, but Webb shut the door in the ninth, retiring the side in order on three groundouts.

The Cubs struck first in the third. Crow-Armstrong led off with a solo homer to right, his 20th. Baltimore answered immediately in the bottom half. Blaze Alexander singled and Jackson Holliday singled before Gunnar Henderson grounded into a double play that scored Alexander, tying it at 1-1.

The Orioles took the lead in the fourth. Taylor Ward singled and Pete Alonso homered to center, his 20th, for a 3-1 edge.

Chicago reclaimed control in the fifth. Michael Conforto led off with a solo homer, his eighth. Carson Kelly followed with a solo shot to left, his fifth, tying the game at 3-3. After a groundout, Crow-Armstrong hit his second homer of the night, a 21st blast to right-center, giving the Cubs a 4-3 lead.

Both teams threatened but were held in check until the Cubs’ seven-run seventh. Baltimore’s bullpen, including relievers Tyler Wells, Albert Suárez and Rico Garcia, had allowed no runs in their combined appearances, but Kremer was charged with the loss after the early damage.

The Orioles made it close in the seventh. Tyler O’Neill, pinch-hitting, led off with a homer, his fourth. After a flyout, Holliday singled and Henderson reached on a fielder’s choice. Adley Rutschman singled and Ward singled, scoring Henderson to cut the lead to 9-5. Alonso flew out to end the inning.

In the eighth, Baltimore continued to fight. Samuel Basallo struck out, but Coby Mayo, pinch-hitting, homered to left, his 11th. O’Neill followed with his second homer of the night, a solo shot to left-center, his fifth, making it 9-7. Blaze Alexander struck out and Holliday doubled, but Gunnar Henderson lined out to shortstop to end the threat.

Crow-Armstrong was the top star for the Cubs, finishing 2-for-4 with two homers, two RBIs and two runs. He also walked and made a key catch in center. The rookie center fielder entered the game with recent solid performances: 2-for-5 with an RBI on Tuesday in the same ballpark, 2-for-4 on Sunday against St. Louis, 1-for-1 on July 4 and 1-for-3 on July 3.

Suzuki went 1-for-4 with the three-run homer, three RBIs and a run. Kelly added a homer and a walk. Conforto homered and scored twice.

For Baltimore, O’Neill was a force off the bench, going 2-for-2 with two homers and two RBIs. Alonso homered and drove in two runs. Mayo homered in a pinch-hit appearance. Holliday had two hits, including a double. The Orioles outhit the Cubs 14-8 but could not overcome the Cubs’ power surges.

The Cubs’ bullpen, including Rea and Webb, held Baltimore scoreless in the final two innings after Webb entered. Webb worked a perfect ninth, striking out none and inducing two groundouts and a popout.

The game was a rematch of Tuesday’s series opener, which the Cubs won 5-2. Chicago has now won three straight and four of its last five. Baltimore has lost four of its last five.

Chicago continues its road trip Thursday in Baltimore before traveling to Cincinnati for a weekend series against the Reds. Baltimore hosts the Cubs again Thursday before a weekend home series against Kansas City.

The Cubs’ pregame win probability, according to Interstat’s ELO system, was 54.40 percent, with a projected final score of 7-4 in favor of Chicago. The Cubs were installed as a 1.5-run favorite on the spread. The total of 16 runs went under the over/under line of 9.