Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/3/25): Cubs 5, Orioles 3 – Turner Walk-Off Wins Series

The Cubs and Orioles met in the deciding game of their series on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Wrigley. Chicago’s bullpen surrendered a late lead for a second consecutive day, but this time an unlikely hero stepped up to provide a critical walk-off win.

The North Siders benefited from an error by Baltimore outfielder Jeremiah Jackson, who dropped a routine fly ball off the bat of Michael Busch in the bottom of the 1st that led to a pair of runs. Seiya Suzuki singled and Ian Happ added an RBI double to produce the offense against starter Brandon Young.

The Orioles began chipping away at Cubs pitcher Colin Rea beginning with an RBI groundout by Gunnar Henderson in the 3rd inning. Colton Cowser hit a game-tying single in the following frame and it was a 2-2 game.

Chicago went back out in front 3-2 on a bloop RBI single by Dansby Swanson in the bottom of the 6th. That narrow lead held all the way until the 9th, when O’s pinch-hitter Ryan Noda singled against closer Daniel Palencia to even the game with two out.

The Cubs fortunately had their own pinch-hitting magic in the bottom of the frame when Justin Turner jumped on the first pitch he saw from lefty Keegan Akin for a walk-off two-run homer and a 5-3 victory. (Box score)

Key Moment

Palencia got Jackson Holliday to pop up for the final out of the 9th inning, stranding the potential go-ahead run at second base.

Why the Cubs Won

They did not fall apart when things went wrong in the top of the 9th and answered back immediately to win it in the bottom half.

Stats That Matter

• Not a great outing for Rea, also not a bad one: 4.2 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 4 K, 1 BB.
• Kyle Tucker and Suzuki each had a pair of hits and hopefully are heating up.
• Turner’s shot was the Cubs first walk-off homer of the season.

Bottom Line

That was not an easy weekend for Chicago, but the important thing is that they took two out of three. If they can keep winning series, they can stay close enough to Milwaukee to capitalize on the cold streak the Brewers will have at some point. Even if the Brew Crew never do come back to earth, every win helps improve the Cubs’ Wild Card position.

On Deck

The Reds come to Wrigley for a three-game set starting Monday at 7:05pm CT. Michael Soroka makes his debut for Chicago against Nick Lodolo in a contest broadcast on Marquee with a radio feed on 670 The Score.