Giants Clinch 2-1 Victory Over Cubs with Late Inning Heroics

CHICAGO (AP) — Matt Chapman delivered a clutch single in the 10th inning, allowing automatic runner Jonah Cox to score and securing a 2-1 win for the San Francisco Giants against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night. This victory marked the Giants' fourth win in their last five games.

Chapman connected on a line drive to center field off Trent Thornton (2-2), bringing Cox—who was pinch running for Bryce Eldridge—from second base. With this win, the Giants took two out of three games at Wrigley Field, while the Cubs suffered their 20th defeat in the past 27 contests.

Keaton Winn (2-1) pitched a flawless ninth inning, overcoming a single and a walk to earn the victory. Dylan Smith made his major league debut a memorable one by tossing a perfect 10th inning, retiring Alex Bregman and leaving Pete Crow-Armstrong stranded on third base.

Javier Assad was impressive on the mound for the Cubs, throwing 6 1/3 innings without allowing a run and giving up just Chapman's infield single and one walk. He stepped in for starter Jameson Taillon, who left the game in the second inning due to a strained left hamstring. Assad, who was recalled from Triple-A on Saturday, struck out five batters and retired the last 12 Giants he faced.

In the early part of the game, Jung Hoo Lee contributed with an RBI single in the first inning, extending his hitting streak to 15 games, while Crow-Armstrong also extended his career-high hitting streak to 12 games with a single. Moisés Ballesteros added to the Cubs' offense with a run-scoring single in the third inning.

On the Giants' side, starter Trevor McDonald allowed one run on four hits over five innings. Taillon's early exit came after he walked Chapman to begin the second inning; he finished with one run, two hits, and two walks. Notably, two-time Gold Glove shortstop Dansby Swanson was absent from the Cubs’ lineup for the second consecutive game, continuing to struggle with a .180 batting average.

Looking ahead, the Giants will send RHP Logan Webb (3-4, 4.25 ERA) to the mound on Monday in San Francisco against Washington's RHP Miles Mikolas (1-5, 6.39). The Cubs will have RHP Colin Rea (5-3, 4.45) pitching against Rockies RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (5-4, 3.98) on Tuesday in Colorado.