In a season full of surprises, the Cubs delivered their fourth walk-off victory of 2026—and it came from the most unexpected hero of all.

Michael Conforto, who signed with Chicago in late February and has largely been an afterthought in the lineup, stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning on Monday night at Wrigley Field. With the game tied 4-4, Conforto crushed a walk-off home run into the left-field bleachers, sending the crowd into a frenzy and extending the Cubs' winning streak to six games. It was also their 12th straight victory at home.

Conforto had barely seen the field recently. After Seiya Suzuki returned from injury on April 10, Conforto played in just 10 games, starting only four. He didn't appear at all in the weekend series against the Diamondbacks. But when manager Craig Counsell called his number as a pinch-hitter for Matt Shaw, Conforto made the most of his opportunity.

"Well, if Conforto gets on, they’ll have to run Nicky Lopez for him," many fans thought in the moment. Conforto took care of that concern himself—with one mighty swing.

The game itself was a back-and-forth thriller, delayed by an hour due to rain that pushed the first pitch to 7:50 p.m. CT. The Cubs had moved the start time up 30 minutes to avoid storms, but Mother Nature had other plans. By the time the rain cleared, the sun emerged and painted a stunning rainbow over the ballpark.

Early on, it looked like the Cubs might be in trouble. Edward Cabrera battled through the first two innings, escaping jams with hits and walks, but couldn't keep the Reds off the board. JJ Bleday led off the second with a home run, and in the third, Ke'Bryan Hayes crushed a two-out, two-run shot to give Cincinnati a 3-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Reds rookie right-hander Chase Petty held the Cubs in check through three innings, allowing just a double by Alex Bregman and a single by Nico Hoerner.

Then, in the fourth inning, a light rain settled over Wrigley—and the Cubs' bats finally came alive.