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Cubs walk off in wild fashion again

Wild walk-off week concluded at Wrigley Field Wednesday, and it concluded in, well, wild fashion.

The Chicago Cubs rallied for 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, finally winning it on a wild pitch from Miami Marlins reliever A.J. Ramos that scored Matt Szczur with the winning run.

The Cubs began the week Sunday night with maybe the wildest win of the year, a 12-inning victory over the Seattle Mariners, a game that ended on a squeeze bunt by pitcher Jon Lester, who came off the bench to pinch hit.

Before manager Joe Maddon even took a postgame question Wednesday, he made a point of thanking the 41,147 fans, most of whom stuck it out through a sticky afternoon at the ballpark, where the home team trailed 4-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning.

"A big part of that rally at the end of the game is our fans, purely," said Maddon, whose team swept the Marlins in three games and improved its record to 66-41. "So much energy. A long day for us. It was hot out there. Sunshine. We've got to get on the road. All those different mental factors. Our fans picked us up at the end, so I just wanted to recognize that from the beginning."

Szczur said he felt the energy standing on third base and then while rushing home.

"Even before I came up to the plate, I had goosebumps because the fans are here for wins, and they're supporting us," he said. "They want us to win. We're going to try to do our best every day."

John Lackey started the game on the mound for the Cubs and gave up a run in the first. The Cubs tied it in the sixth before Jeff Mathis hit a 2-run homer off Lackey in the seventh.

The Marlins got 1 more in the eighth before the Cubs cut the deficit to 4-2 in the bottom of the inning.

Miguel Montero led off the home ninth with a double, and he went to third on Javier Baez's single. Szczur walked to load the bases before Dexter Fowler hit a sacrifice fly, scoring 1 and advancing the other runners

The Marlins walked Anthony Rizzo intentionally to load the bases. Ben Zobrist drew a game-tying walk, and with Willson Contreras up, Ramos uncorked the wild pitch.

"Today was huge for us because we got the sweep, three games in a row," Szczur said. "We had a pretty good homestand. For us to get a walk-off win like that was huge for the team."

After hitting a lull before the all-star break, the Cubs have gone 13-6 since the break, and two walk-off wins in four days might be making a statement.

"I think we've got a good group," said Lackey, who hit a pair of doubles. "We've got a group that keeps fighting and keeps competing until the last out. It's fun to see. The other night, with all the pitchers getting into the game and that kind of stuff, those kind of crazy games can roll over into some positive energy."

The expectations are rightfully high for this Cubs team. For Lackey, those expectations stop at only one destination.

"Fair expectations?" the laconic Lackey asked in response to a question. "I think we're trying to win a World Series. I didn't come here for a haircut. I came here for jewelry."

Maddon says Baez is game changer on defense

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