The Rundown: Cubs Sweep Padres, Swanson Bashing at Historic Pace, MLBPA Submits Latest Proposal

“Gonna break it loose, gonna keep ’em movin’ wild, gonna keep a-swingin’, baby.” – Real Wild Child (Wild One) by Iggy Pop

The Cubs destroyed the Padres 23-3 yesterday, hitting eight home runs in the process. While the game was fun to watch, it fully represents the dichotomy of Chicago’s baseball season. The team is capable of beating anybody when their offense is running at its unbridled best, but can be equally frustrating when it collectively slumps. Nobody symbolizes the streakiness with which the Cubs play more than Dansby Swanson. In his last 10 games, Swanson has driven in 26 runs. He hit three homers yesterday, and his overall numbers look like something out of a video game.

Here is a breakdown of Swanson’s unprecedented two weeks:

• June 17-24: 11-for-23 (.478) with 10 runs scored, four home runs, 18 RBI, and four stolen bases. His OBP was .519 and his OPS was 1.174. The Cubs were 6-1 against the Blue Jays and Mets.
• June 25-28: 0-for-16 with one run scored. Swanson slumped, but Chicago still took two of three from the Brewers.
• June 29-July 1: 8-for-13 (.615) with seven runs scored, five home runs, and an additional 18 RBI. His OBP is .615 during this stretch and his OPS is 1.846. The Cubs swept the Padres, outscoring them 35-12.

Likewise, the Cubs started this season 27-12 (.692) with a +56 run differential before skidding to a 7-22 (.241) stretch that dropped them to .500 on June 10. They’re 15-4 (.789) since. Chicago’s run differential is now +63, but it fell all the way to zero during their May freeze. Simply put, the Cubs win when they hit and they lose when they do not. That’s why Jed Hoyer is trying to find Craig Counsell as many able-bodied arms as possible. The North Siders need to compete in low-scoring games, especially once the playoffs start.

The Cubs now have 10 games where they’ve scored 10 or more runs, winning all of them. Swanson was 17-for-40 (.425) with 18 runs scored, six taters, and 23 RBI in those contests. As Dansby goes, so does Chicago’s offense. Fans wanted to run the streaky shortstop out of town when the World Cup started three weeks ago. He’s now worthy of an All-Star selection and his 57 RBI are 11th-best in baseball, seven behind leader Nick Kurtz. Swanson is also worth 2.6 bWAR, tied for second on the Cubs with Seiya Suzuki.

Yesterday’s assault on San Diego pitchers — and those just playing the part — gave World Series vibes to fans from Antioch to Carbondale. Chicago also earned the playoff tiebreaker against the Padres, and they also hold one against the Phillies. The Cardinals come to Wrigley Field tomorrow, and then the Cubs travel to Baltimore and Cincinnati ahead of the All-Star Break. Seems like a nice opportunity to narrow the gap on the Brewers, and widen one over St. Louis.

Cubs News & Notes

• Baseball hasn’t seen a streak like the one Swanson has been on in nearly 90 years. Since 1920, Swanson, Mel Ott, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, and Joe DiMaggio are the only players to have 26+ RBI in a 10-game span.
• The shortstop believes driving in runs is a good thing. We can all agree on that point.
• The eight home runs the Cubs hit Wednesday matched a club record set against the Cardinals. The one-year anniversary of that game is Saturday.
• Chicago is finally over the hump of a very frigid month of games and now needs to hold position.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong is the first Cubs batter with at least 11 homers, 20 RBI and 40 hits in a month since Nick Castellanos in August of 2019. Add his 17 walks into the equation and you have to go back to Hall of Famer Hack Wilson. Throw in Crow-Armstrong’s eight stolen bases and he stands alone for any month by a Cubs batter.
• The Cubs and White Sox should be in the mix to acquire Freddy Peralta from the Mets according to David Schoenfield of ESPN.
• By hook or by crook, Matthew Boyd is Chicago’s ace for the remainder of the season.
• Jordan Wicks earned a three-inning save in yesterday’s lopsided win. It was his second save of the season, and he trails team leader Daniel Palencia by one.
• Chicago’s relievers have combined for 15 saves so far. The 1976 Phillies and 1990 Red Sox made the playoffs with 16 total saves, the lowest in a full season since the stat was officially recognized in 1969.
• Suzuki became just the fourth Japanese-born big leaguer to reach 100 homers, joining Hideki Matsui (175), Ichiro Suzuki (117), and Shohei Ohtani (298).
• The Cubs could be a buyer and a seller at the deadline, but it seems doubtful they’d trade Suzuki for pitching help.

Ball Four

I don’t think anybody is surprised Kyle Tucker (102 OPS+) is underperforming, but trailing Michael Conforto (136) in production wasn’t on anybody’s bingo card.

chat, we're running out of words. pic.twitter.com/r8gba1eQSG

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 1, 2026

Central Intelligence

• Milwaukee (53-31): Pat Murphy has scheduled Jacob Misiorowski to start two times before the All-Star Game. That could render the Brewers’ ace unavailable for this year’s midsummer classic.
• Chicago (49-38): Jon Lester initially struggled after signing with the Cubs, and he thinks Alex Bregman is also putting a little too much pressure on himself.
• St. Louis (44-38): The Cardinals and Angels are a strong match in a potential trade for Reid Detmers.
• Pittsburgh (43-44): Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes continues to experience a significant dip in velocity.
• Cincinnati (38-46): Nick Lodolo is starting to heat up, which could give the Reds an opportunity to sell high on the lefty starter.

How About That!

The Major League Baseball Players Association made its latest bargaining proposal on Wednesday, this one designed around maximizing opportunities for big league salaries and service time.

The league and the union could decide to operate under status quo and avoid a work stoppage while negotiating the next CBA. The owners aren’t going to want to give up that leverage, and the players may not want to either.

The city of Milwaukee has honored Bob Uecker with a downtown mural. The mural features Uecker wearing one of his trademark plaid blazers and has his signature along with his “Mr. Baseball” nickname.

Apropos of Nothing

Sorry for the tardiness with posting today’s Rundown. We had an unexpected death in our family yesterday and things have been a little hectic today. Our loved one was hit by a drunk driver while crossing the street as a pedestrian in Peoria, IL right around dinnertime. The driver did not begin to break until 250 feet after hitting her. Someone will be posting a GoFundMe to raise money for her three children, all of whom are still in high school. I’ll provide a link when it’s available.

Extra Innings

Reflection is the better part of a champion.

Bad news: we don't play baseball today.

Good news: here are all 13 of our home runs from the last two games to hold you over. pic.twitter.com/pJq5nNgFMW

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 2, 2026

They Said It

• “[Swanson] 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.” – Counsell
• “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.” – Swanson
• “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? He’s a star for a reason.” – Nico Hoerner

Thursday Walk-Up Song

I got into REO Speedwagon back when the Cubs were kicking everybody’s ass in 1984. Yesterday felt like that first game of the ’84 NLCS.