CHICAGO _ The Cubs' home magic finally ran out this weekend.
The Nationals beat the Cubs 7-5 in 11 innings Sunday before 40,518 at Wrigley Field, giving them a convincing sweep of the three-game series between two potential playoff opponents.
After entering the weekend with a dominating 44-19 record at home, the Cubs were swept in a series for the first time since the Indians won a two-game series at Wrigley on May 22-23, 2018.
Tyler Chatwood, the seventh Cubs pitcher, gave up two runs in the 11th, including the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.
Howie Kendrick led off the 11th with a single and advanced to third on Trea Turner's double to right. Facing Anthony Rendon with one out, Chatwood threw a wild pitch, bringing home Kendrick to make it 6-5.
Rendon's RBI single added an insurance run against Chatwood, who was pitching for the third straight day in the series and for the fourth time in five days.
For a while it looked like the Cubs would pull off a classic, late-inning comeback after struggling against Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg, who struck out 10 in six innings.
Kyle Schwarber's two-run, opposite-field home run off Fernando Rodney tied the game in the eighth, setting up the wild finish.
Cubs starter Cole Hamels pitched well but lasted only five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. Rendon's solo home run onto Waveland Avenue gave the Nationals a 1-0 lead in the fourth, but the Cubs tied it on Addison Russell's home run into the left-field basket in the fifth.
After the Nationals scored on a double-play grounder by Kurt Suzuki in the sixth, the Cubs answered with Kris Bryant's RBI single in the bottom of the inning.
The game was tied 2-2 in the eighth when Rowan Wick loaded the bases on a pair of walks sandwiched around a single. Left-hander Kyle Ryan replaced Wick to face Juan Soto with two outs, but Soto beat out a grounder to deep short, bringing home the go-ahead run. Asdrubal Cabrera followed with a two-run, opposite-field single to right, making it 5-2.
Victor Caratini's solo home run off Hunter Strickland pulled the Cubs to within two in the seventh, and Schwarber's shot tied it up one inning later.
Daniel Hudson notched the win for the Nationals with two innings of scoreless relief.
Following an day off Monday, the Cubs begin a brief three-day road series in New York on Tuesday, facing another wild-card contender in the Mets. The Cubs have a 25-39 record in the road.
