If you’ve ever wondered what it might feel like if the Cubs and Yankees ever meet in the World Series in this century, Saturday night at Wrigley Field gave at least a hint.
Between the cool, cloudy, breezy weather that made it feel almost like October, the large contingent of Yankees fans, the national TV broadcast and a stirring comeback that gave the Cubs a 5-2 win, that’s about as close to a postseason atmosphere you’ll ever get in August. And all of it added up to perhaps the most satisfying win of the 2026
season to date.
After David Peterson retired the Yankees in order in the top of the first, the Cubs got right to work. Pete Crow-Armstrong led off with a walk, something he’s become quite good at. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, took third on a ground out by Seiya Suzuki, and then another wild pitch by Max Fried scored him [VIDEO].
That is where the score stayed until the top of the fifth. With two out, Michael Busch made an uncharacteristic error trying to scoop a ground ball. The Yankees followed with two singles to tie the game 1-1.
Peterson threw really well in this game. He got to one out in the top of the seventh and it was clear that after he faced the left-handed hitting Spencer Jones, he was going to be removed. Unfortunately, Jones put a ball into the bleachers to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Still, it was another very good outing for Peterson, who now has a 1.52 ERA over his last four starts covering 23.2 innings after that horrid whateveritwas against the Cardinals last month.
Peterson struck out eight [VIDEO].
And here’s more on Peterson’s outing [VIDEO].
Well. The Cubs trail the Yankees by one and they still have three innings remaining against a New York bullpen that’s been really good of late. Fernando Cruz came in for the Yankees to begin the seventh and it took Nico Hoerner just five pitches to tie the game with a truly stunning home run [VIDEO].
It’s not just that Nico rarely hits home runs — that was just his second since April, although also his second in his last six games. It’s the fact that the wind was blowing in at 21 miles per hour and unlike the home run by Jones, which was a line drive, Nico’s had a 29 degree launch angle. It just barely made it, fair by maybe three or four feet and just over the basket, but a home run all the same, and the game was tied.
Here are the numbers behind Hoerner’s homer [VIDEO].
The next two Cubs were retired, and then Craig Counsell sent Pedro Ramirez up to bat for James Triantos, who had made his first MLB start at DH.
Ramirez, who’s become a very good major league hitter in a very short time, worked a seven-pitch walk.
Now the Cubs have a 3-2 lead, and Suzuki was the next hitter [VIDEO].
PCA scored easily to make it 4-2, but Suzuki, originally called safe, had come off second base. The Yankees successfully challenged the call and the inning was over, but now the Cubs had a two-run lead.
About that three-run seventh, from BCB’s JohnW53:
Until they scored three runs in the seventh inning, the Cubs had scored a total of three in their last 42 innings at Wrigley Field vs. the Yankees: 0, 0 and 2 in 2024, then 0 Friday and 1 through six innings Saturday night.
Jacob Webb, who’s become perhaps the most reliable reliever in Counsell’s circle of trust, allowed a leadoff single in the eighth, then retired the next three Yankees in order, including the dangerous Ben Rice. Rice was sent up as a pinch-hitter, but Webb got him to ground to first to end the inning.
The Cubs tacked on an important insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Alex Bregman led off with a walk and went to third on a single by Carson Kelly.
Busch’s single scored Bregman to make it 5-2 [VIDEO].
Caleb Thielbar was given the save opportunity with a three-run lead, likely because Jones was leading off the ninth. Thielbar allowed a single to Jones, then got Ali Sanchez to hit into a double play.
That was, as I mentioned above, a really satisfying win — solid pitching and timely hitting. The Cubs were just 2-for-9 with RISP but made both those hits count.
Here are Counsell’s postgame remarks [VIDEO].
The Cubs go for the series win Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field, and we have been assured that there won’t be any rain. Colin Rea will start for the Cubs and Gerrit Cole goes for the Yankees. Game time is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
