It wasn’t so long ago that the Cubs were scuffling, trying to regain their footing after navigating through a 10-game losing streak. Those hard times for the North Siders are quickly becoming a distant memory, replaced now with the team many saw as an NL Central heavyweight coming into this season. The Cubs put a bow on another sweep Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field, trouncing the Padres, 23-3, amid blazing temps and a "feels like" temperature of 105 degrees. It was Chicago’s 15th win in the past 19 games and third straight series victory, and the Cubs removed any concept of drama not long after the first pitch. Seiya Suzuki got things rolling in the opening frame, clubbing a three-run shot for the 100th homer of his career. But he had to share the spotlight an inning later thanks to one of the biggest takeaways from Chicago’s victory. **1\. Dansby can’t stop slugging dingers** It’s getting harder and harder to remember the fact that Dansby Swanson’s 2026 season got off to an incredibly rocky start. Chicago’s shortstop struggled through the season’s first two and a half months, slashing .183/.292/.325 as recently as June 20. That date represents an important benchmark, since Swanson has been a machine nearly every game since. One night after slugging a pair of home runs in Tuesday’s 9-7 win, Swanson cracked three more on Wednesday to become the ninth Cub since 1900 with back-to-back multihomer games. He’s the first Chicago player to do so since Patrick Wisdom on Aug. 27-28, 2021. Even more impressive was the fact he wrapped that stat up by the third inning. He iced the cake in the eighth by cracking a grand slam against position player Rodolfo Durán for his first career three-homer game. Starting with a Mets series that he spent becoming a one-man highlight reel, Swanson now has 26 RBIs over his past 10 games -- that is the most by a Cub in a 10-game span in franchise history.
