Pete Crow-Armstrong scores on error in 11th and Cubs rally for 3-2 win over Blue Jays

CHICAGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong scored on a throwing error in the 11th inning after Alex Bregman hit a two-strike, two-out homer in the ninth, and the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.

Crow-Armstrong singled leading off the 11th against Brendon Little (0-3), but automatic runner Carson Kelly was thrown out at the plate. The MVP candidate then tried to steal third and Blue Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela overthrew third baseman Josh Smith, allowing Crow-Armstrong to dash home. He took off his helmet before touching the plate and then tossed it into the protective netting before he was mobbed by teammates.

It was the 11th walk-off win this season for Chicago, which is in position for the first NL wild card.

Bregman forced extra innings with his 12th homer of the season. Crow-Armstrong led off the ninth with a single against Blue Jays closer Louis Varland, who retired the next two batters and went ahead 1-2 against Bregman before his knuckle curve caught the middle of the plate and Bregman lined it over the wall in left.

Varland had been 24 for 24 in save situations.

The Cubs, coming off a sweep of the Dodgers, moved to 10-4 during a stretch of 17 games in 17 days. The matchup with Toronto was rescheduled from June 21 because of rain.

Trent Thornton (5-4) pitched out of a jam in the top of the 11th.

Toronto squandered a sterling performance by Dylan Cease, who allowed two hits and struck out 10 in seven innings. Alejandro Kirk went 4 for 5 for the Blue Jays, who went 1 for 19 with runners in scoring position, stranding 13 baserunners.

Toronto second baseman Luis Urias left midway through the fourth inning after appearing to injure himself running out a double.

The Blue Jays will start RHP José Soriano (9-6, 3.29 ERA) at Philadelphia on Friday against RHP Zack Wheeler (10-2, 2.49). RHP Kevin Gausman (5-10, 4.38) makes his Cubs debut at Kansas City on Friday.

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Chicago Cubs starter David Peterson delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Chicago, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Toronto Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto, of Japan, right, celebrates with teammate Nathan Lukes (38) after scoring on a disengagement violation during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Toronto Blue Jays starter Dylan Cease delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong celebrates while scoring the winning run on a throwing error by Toronto Blue Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela during the eleventh inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong celebrates after scoring the winning run on a throwing error by Toronto Blue Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela during the eleventh inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

A man charged with starting one of the wildfires in Spokane, Washington, that have destroyed hundreds of buildings planned the crime for weeks and researched when the weather would be best for igniting it, police said.

Aaron Farinacci expressed that “fire is powerful, beautiful, and that things that go through fire experience a kind of rebirth," Spokane County Detective Michael Drapeau said in a court filing Wednesday, recalling his interview with him.

Farinacci, 37, is charged with starting the Old Trails Fire, one of three fires in the Spokane area that have burned more than 850 homes and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. He’s due in court Thursday for arraignment on a first-degree arson charge.

Defense attorney Colin Charbonneau did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Farinacci researched the weather to predict a day that would have “high winds, low humidity, sort of high heat” for starting the fire, Drapeau said. He also looked up the work of a well-known serial arsonist and purchased items to make a “time delay device” for igniting a wildfire, using notebook paper, matches, a cigarette and a rubber band, the detective said.

Farinacci picked Saturday, Aug. 1, to start the fire because he knew there would be strong winds — reaching 50 mph (80 kph), the detective said.

He said he knew it "'was gonna get bad,’” the detective said, but Farinacci claimed he didn’t intend it to grow as much as it did.

Paul Child, 64, has been credited with leading police to Farinacci. He was driving with his grandson along some railroad tracks when he saw a man standing there and looking toward nearby trees. About 10 minutes later, the man was still there.

“He was bent over in the brush, acting nervous,” Child told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “You get the feeling this guy’s up to something.”

Drapeau said Farinacci also admitted responsibility for 25 fires near his apartment building in summer 2025. Most were near the Spokane River or the Centennial Trail.

Farinacci said he didn't think the Aubrey White Fire in July 2025 would cause damage but "one house got ‘slightly damaged’ from the side,” the detective said.

That fire was added to the charges, as well as the Meenach Fire, the court filing states.

Farinacci served about a decade in prison after killing his father in Mesa, Arizona, in 2010. He also shot himself at that time but survived.

He was charged with murder but pleaded guilty in 2012 to manslaughter and aggravated assault. Farinacci’s lawyer repeatedly raised concerns about his mental health during the case.

Drapeau said Farinacci indicated that he moved to the Copper River Apartments in the Spokane area in October 2022.

A son was born in 2025 and “he began having trouble dealing with life issues," the detective said. "He began smoking marijuana at about this time.”

Scorched trees stand over the remains of Riverside Real Life church Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, after a wildfire hit the northern part of Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A burned truck sits in a driveway near several destroyed homes in a residential neighborhood Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, after a wildfire hit the northern part of Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Crews work near several burned down houses after a wildfire hit the northwest part of Spokane, Wash., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A burned section of trees is marked with pink tape Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in an area near the origin point of the Old Trails Fire, after a man was arrested, suspected of starting the wildfire in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)