Alex Bregman comes through in another dramatic Cubs win over White Sox, 13th Wrigley walkoff this season

Another night, another dramatic Crosstown finish.

A night after Pete Crow-Armstrong’s walk-off homer to give the Cubs an extra-inning win, it was Alex Bregman’s turn Tuesday, the team’s big free-agent signing driving in both the game-tying and game-winning runs with separate clutch hits in a 4-3 defeat of the White Sox.

Bregman’s game-winning knock in the ninth gave the Cubs their 13th walk-off win at Wrigley Field this season.

“That’s a lot,” Cubs righty starter Kevin Gausman said. “It goes to show how special this team is, how special these guys are. They always believe in each other, and when you have that, it’s tough [to beat].”

Bregman came through twice Tuesday.

The Cubs drew back-to-back walks down a run in the bottom of the seventh before the Sox called on terrific righty reliever Grant Taylor, who struck out Crow-Armstrong and right fielder Seiya Suzuki before Bregman tied the game at 3 with a base hit to left field.

Rain came in the middle of the eighth inning and forced an hour-and-a-half delay, preventing the Sox from sending Taylor back out for another inning. In his second inning of work in the ninth, righty reliever Trevor Richards yielded a leadoff double to Cubs catcher Carson Kelly, intentionally walked Crow-Armstrong with one out and gave up another two-out knock to Bregman, who went back up the middle for the game-winner.

“You love it,” Bregman said of getting a chance in moments when the game is on the line. “Sometimes, you’re going to fail in them, but you want them every single time. Eventually, you keep putting yourself in those spots and you keep getting those opportunities, you’re going to come through. I was fortunate enough to put a good swing on it today.”

“Grant was going back out there [for the eighth], and obviously, we weren’t able to get his inning there, which puts you in a tough spot,” Sox skipper Will Venable said. “They got it right; it rained pretty heavy there, right when they thought it was going to.”

Indeed, it rained, which Cubs and Sox fans alike took as an opportunity to gather behind home plate, mostly shirtless, for some “Tarps Off” fun, twirling their shirts and singing along to “Seven Nation Army,” “Dancing Queen” and “Bear Down, Chicago Bears,” among other tunes.

Hours earlier, Crow-Armstrong started the scoring by picking up where he left off Monday, hitting a leadoff homer for a second straight night, and first baseman Michael Busch made it a second consecutive two-homer first for the Cubs.

But Gausman’s first home start since joining the Cubs in a deadline deal didn’t go as he’d hoped. He gave up three runs – on a trio of two-out singles in the second, on a crushed Munetaka Murakami homer in the third and a couple doubles in the fourth – before needing a lengthy visit from the trainer in the fourth and leaving early with a cramp in his left hand two batters into the fifth.

“It’s pretty frustrating, to be honest, my first start here as a Cub, obviously not what I’m trying to do,” Gausman said. “It’s only the second time, I think, in my career that I left the game [with an injury]. I felt like I couldn’t keep going. I couldn’t grab my glove without [my thumb] locking up on me.”

Right-hander Javier Assad once again stepped in for an injured starter and delivered a stellar performance, throwing three scoreless innings to keep the Cubs within a run. Righty reliever Jacob Webb pitched a scoreless ninth, his 23rd consecutive scoreless appearance.

But it was Bregman’s big night, just the latest as the third baseman has heated up in the second half.

“He’s a smart hitter,” Gausman said. “He knows how guys are going to pitch against him. He’s been around a long time. You mix that with the ability to change his swing to certain pitches and the mentality that he has in those big moments, he knows he’s done it before.

“It’s fun to watch.”