In 20 minutes, boos turned into pure elation from the 39,614 at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs had seen a 3-run, 9th-inning lead evaporate, and the crowd showed its displeasure as Héctor Neris and the Cubs walked off the field to a tie game. An inning later, Seiya Suzuki turned that frustration into cheers, delivering a walk-off single in the Cubs’ 6-5 win over the Blue Jays at Wrigley Field. As Suzuki rounded first, he jumped up in joy and was mobbed by his teammates who came to celebrate with him.

“It makes me happy,” Suzuki said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “I’m usually the one who goes out there and jumps on my teammates. So felt good to be on the other side.”

Leading 5-2 in the 9th, manager Craig Counsell turned to Neris to pick up a save — his first time pitching since Saturday’s win over the White Sox. Neris allowed 3 singles to the first 4 hitters he faced.

[WATCH: Craig Counsell searching for consistency to ‘earn’ winning streaks]

He looked to have picked up a massive second out when he struck out Toronto’s 9-hitter, Leo Jiménez. But Neris had been called for a balk, one that the crowd nor the Cubs picked up at first, allowing a run to score and make it a 2-run lead. Neris then allowed a game-tying, 2-run triple to George Springer before striking out Daulton Varsho to end the inning.

“Overall, Héctor has been pitching very, very well,” Counsell said. “He had a tough inning today, no question about it. They had some good at-bats. They kind of jumped him, and they had some 2-strike hits against him. But you just got to keep making pitches.

“We can be upset that the game got tied. He had to make big pitches to get Varsho out and keep the game tied and give us a chance. No one likes to give up runs. Héctor did today. He gave up the lead but, but he kept it there, and we got the job done.”

It was a wild sequence for the Cubs, who appeared to be cruising to a much-needed win as they kicked off a pivotal 18-game stretch against teams below .500. They had raced out to a 3-run lead thanks to 4 home runs — a 2-run shot from Cody Bellinger, and solo blasts from Pete Crow-Armstrong, Miguel Amaya and Ian Happ. That was buoyed by a solid start from Kyle Hendricks — who allowed 2 runs (1 earned) in 5 innings.

The Cubs went down in order in the bottom of the 9th, but Tyson Miller induced a pair of flyouts and a groundball to strand the courtesy runner in the top of the 10th.

In the bottom of the frame, Michael Busch coaxed a walk, setting the stage for Suzuki’s walk-off — the first of his career — a single to left field.

“So in that situation, I wasn’t thinking anything particular,” Suzuki said. “I was thinking about if they give me a pitch to hit to make sure I swing at it, thinking about different pitches in the at-bat. But I think possibly just not thinking about anything besides the actual at-bat, I think that actually might have helped.”

The win moves the Cubs to 3 games under .500 and 5 games back in the NL Wild Card picture. It’s still a daunting task, but if ever there was a time for a run, this is the stretch to do so.

The Cubs won’t play a team with a winning record until the Yankees come into town on September 6 and could have the perfect opportunity to build an impactful winning streak, one they have rarely done this season.

“I think for everybody in here, like we got to do it today first, and then you move on to the next day,” Counsell said before the game. “It doesn’t help me to worry about the Miami Marlins series right now.”