CHICAGO — Thairo Estrada hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the San Francisco Giants to a 7-6 victory over the Cubs on a steamy Monday night.
Heliot Ramos and Patrick Bailey also homered for the Giants, who won their second straight after erasing a 6-3 deficit in the final two innings.
Ian Happ and Michael Busch had home runs for the Cubs, who’ve dropped four of their last five.
The Giants got a run back in the eighth on Bailey’s solo shot off reliever Mark Leiter Jr., then took the lead for good off Héctor Neris (6-2) in the ninth when Estrada sent the first pitch he saw into the left-field bleachers.
With one out, Jorge Soler reached on catcher’s interference. Mike Yastrzemski followed with a walk before Estrada’s homer.
Camilo Doval worked the ninth for his 13th save in 15 tries. Reliever Erik Miller (2-2) won despite giving up Happ’s three-run homer in the seventh that gave the Cubs the lead. Happ nearly drove Miller’s 2-2 pitch onto Waveland Avenue in left field. The ball cleared the bleachers but landed a few feet shy of leaving the park.
Soler drew a two-out walk in the fourth and came home two pitches later on Mike Yastrzemski’s triple to give the Giants the game’s first lead. It held up until the sixth, when Busch hit a booming, two-out drive off Randy Rodríguez to center to give the Cubs a 2-1 edge.
Chicago’s Javier Assad allowed five hits, walked two and struck out seven in the first five innings. Giants right-hander Jordan Hicks also went five, striking out four while walking for and allowing four hits.
San Francisco manager Bob Melvin was ejected in the bottom of the eighth by home-plate umpire Manny Gonzalez.
It was 93 degrees at the first pitch, three off the record high for the date that was matched earlier in the day.
Cubs: DH Mike Tauchman left the game in the bottom of the third after legging out a single. The club said he experienced left groin tightness.
The series continues Tuesday night, when RHP Logan Webb (6-5, 3.02 ERA) faces Chicago LHP Justin Steele (0-3, 3.22).
