Cubs’ Swanson surge fuels 13 homers in two days

Cubs’ bats – Dansby Swanson’s hot streak has helped the Cubs unload 13 home runs in two days against the Padres at Wrigley Field, including a 23-3 win that featured three Swanson blasts. The run has him setting a club RBI mark over the last 10 games as Chicago steadies its

A week ago, the Cubs were trying to keep up with an ever-growing list of pitching injuries. Then shortstop Dansby Swanson leaned on the only kind of honesty that fits a moment like that.

“Holy catfish, this is pretty crazy.”

A week later, the mood at Wrigley Field shifted hard. On a hot, windy day, the Cubs’ bats arrived like they’d been training for it all offseason. They bashed 13 home runs in two days against the Padres. turning the kind of slump that crushes momentum into a streak that suddenly looks like an escape route.

Swanson accounted for five of the homers. On Wednesday, he launched a trio that drove in eight runs as the Cubs completed a sweep with a 23-3 slaughter.

For a player who had recently looked like he might get swallowed by a rough stretch, this kind of output doesn’t just show up on a stat sheet. It changes how a team plays around him—how confident the lineup feels when the first pitch is thrown.

Swanson is on a heater that hasn’t been matched in franchise history. He has 26 RBIs over the course of the last 10 games—set as a new club record—and it’s the first time in baseball since Joe DiMaggio in 1939 that a player has reached that mark in such a span.

After Wednesday’s win, manager Craig Counsell tried to explain what everyone watching could feel, even if it didn’t quite make sense.

“He probably went through the roughest patch of his career, and on the other side of it is the best stretch of his career. You figure it out. I don’t think Dansby could it explain it to you, either.”

Swanson’s response was as simple as it was pointed.

“No,” he said. “That’s kind of the beauty of it, why we keep coming back to this game, no matter how tough it may be at times. Good or bad, you want to show up every day and give it your best effort.”

It hasn’t always been easy for him. For the longest time, Swanson struggled badly enough that the last time the Cubs were at Wrigley Field, team brass faced questions about benching him—the second highest paid player on the team.

Now, the situation flips. Swanson is the Cubs’ RBI leader with 57. Only nine major leaguers had more than that on Wednesday—a remarkable number for a player who, not long ago, was still searching for any kind of positive result.

RBIs have become the language of his season for a reason. He put it that way himself, talking about the stat before Tuesday’s game.

“The one thing I was taught early on playing this game, RBIs is like the one stat that continuously adds up,” Swanson said Tuesday. “No matter if you’re going good or bad, they can continue to stack up each and every day.”

“RBIs are a good thing, right?”

Yes—especially for a Cubs team trying to chase championship-level goals.

The run also has teammates sounding like they’ve seen this version of Swanson too many times to doubt it. Second baseman Nico Hoerner pointed to the rarity of what’s happening.

“Shortstops that [hit 20 homers and drive in 80 runs in a season] and play Gold Glove defense don’t really just grow on trees, you know?” Hoerner said last week in New York. “He’s a star for a reason.”

Outfielder Michael Conforto said the consistency is what makes the current stretch stick.

“Dansby’s been the same every single day,” Conforto said. “That’s what real leaders do. He’s that steady presence for us, and he deserves every bit of what’s coming to him because he works his butt off. We’re stoked for him.”

This surge isn’t just Swanson’s story. It’s arriving alongside a Cubs offense that’s shaken off a monthlong malaise. Wednesday’s performance matched a franchise record with eight homers. Even though it came nearly a year to the day—July 4 last July—that kind of day still matters because it reflects what the lineup looks like at its best.

The Cubs have scored 140 runs in the last 19 games, winning 15 of them. The timing is brutal and perfect at once: the pitching staff has been beset by injuries, forcing the team to lean on offense while it waits for health to return.

Swanson framed the danger this way.

“Whether it’s me. Pete [Crow-Armstrong during his incredible June] or any other of our other guys who are capable of incredible things. that’s what makes a great team great. ” Swanson said. “It’s what makes this group dangerous. It can come from anywhere at any time. Guys have a lot of confidence, and we’re playing like it.”.

The Cubs entered the season’s fourth month still chasing the Brewers, back 5½ games in the NL Central. A surge like this doesn’t erase what they’ve missed, but it changes what’s possible—and it makes the chase feel suddenly less like waiting and more like closing.

The next part of the summer. though. still has a familiar sound beneath it: the schedule and the roster moves tied to injuries. The Cubs need Boyd—who has made only seven starts this season due to injuries—to show up in a big way as they spend the summer waiting for health to return to their pitching staff.

They’re also working toward getting one of their arms back. Taillon has been out since early June with a strained hamstring. The team is aiming for Taillon to make a rehab start this weekend, potentially setting him up for a return from the IL during the team’s final series before the break.

Then there’s the way the Cubs are finding offense beyond the long ball. They’re baseball’s walk kings, leading the majors in that category. Their improved on-base numbers have shown up across the lineup. and the team has been drawing free passes with the same intensity they’ve been delivering when they swing.

For now, the scoreboard does the talking, and Swanson’s recent run—his RBIs stacking up like they’re inevitable—has given Wrigley Field a reason to feel different again.

Oh, you know what they say in Georgia.

Cubs Dansby Swanson Padres Wrigley Field NL Central Craig Counsell RBIs home runs Taillon injuries Michael Conforto Nico Hoerner Boyd