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The pace picked up for Cubs walkoff homers in the early 1990s. In this five-season span there were 10, and of course one of those seasons (1994) was shortened due to a labor dispute.
May 5, 1990, first game: With two out in the bottom of the ninth and Mark Grace on second base, Shawon Dunston walked it off for a 3-2 win over the Padres. It made a winner out of Greg Maddux, who had thrown nine innings and allowed eight hits and two runs.
May 8, 1990: Two walkoff homers in a homestand! The Cubs blew a 5-0 lead and had to come from behind in the ninth after a wild pitch had given the Braves an 8-7 lead. Andre Dawson’s homer in the ninth sent it to extras and then Andre homered again in the 11th for a 9-8 victory.
July 4, 1991: The Cubs went into the eighth inning leading this game 8-2. Greg Maddux ran out of gas with two on and two out in the eighth with a run already in and Dave Smith relieved him. Smith had been signed before that year to help fix the Cubs’ closer issue, but this game... Smith issued a walk and Orlando Merced hit a grand slam. (Merced will appear again in this series, in a happier way.) The Pirates tied it 8-8 in the ninth, but Mark Grace bailed everyone out when he led off the bottom of the 11th with a walkoff, his second home run of the game [VIDEO].
August 11, 1991: This walkoff homer is the latest by inning so far in this series. This game was tied 2-2 after four innings and no one scored again until the 14th, when George Bell led off the inning with his blast that gave the Cubs a 3-2 win over the Mets.
If your memory of George Bell as a Cub is hazy, here’s the home run [VIDEO]. (The game was on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, so it’s Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on the call.)
September 14, 1991: The Cubs trailed 5-0 going into the bottom of the sixth, but came all the way back and tied the game 5-5 in the last of the ninth. In the bottom of the 11th with one out, Hector Villanueva, one of the most popular Cubs of this era, homered for a 6-5 win over the Expos.
July 29, 1992: Sammy Sosa hit 11 walkoff homers in his career, 10 as a Cub. This is the first, hit with a runner on base and one out in the 11th inning for a 6-4 victory over the Pirates.
July 26, 1993: Randy Myers blew a save in the ninth by allowing a home run and the Cubs had to score in the bottom of the 10th just to send the game to the 11th. With two out and two runners on in the 11th, Jose Vizcaino’s three-run blast sent the Cubs to a 9-6 win over the Padres.
August 30, 1993: Rick Wilkins had a freakishly good year in ‘93, hitting 30 homers (he never again hit more than 14). With two out and no one on base in the bottom of the 11th, the Cubs loaded the bases and Wilkins cleared them with a walkoff slam. The Cubs beat the Phillies 10-6.
September 5, 1993: No one scored in this game until the eighth, when the Mets took a 1-0 lead. Anthony Young, who had just a few weeks earlier ended his crazy 27-game losing streak, was in line to win this game for the Mets. But with Mark Grace on first base and one out in the ninth, Glenallen Hill homered off John Franco to give the Cubs a 2-1 win.
May 22, 1994: Derrick May homered leading off the 11th inning to give the Cubs a 6-5 triumph over the Giants. It was the sixth victory in what would become an eight-game winning streak.