Just when it seemed like the Cubs' bats had officially cooled off and the wind at Wrigley Field would never stop blowing in, a sudden change struck the North Side.
The wind died down completely by the fifth inning Monday and the Cubs belted a pair of 2-run homers into the left-field bleachers to spark a 5-2 victory over the Miami Marlins.
Dansby Swanson hit the first of the home runs, Seiya Suzuki the second, with an RBI triple by Kyle Tucker in between. The 5-run fifth inning broke a scoreless tie and provided all the runs the Cubs needed.
Swanson has been an important piece to the offense lately. He went 2-for-4 in this game and since the start of the Pittsburgh series on April 29, he's hit .422 with 5 home runs.
The hot streak began right around the time Swanson moved down in the batting order, but he's joked that the turnaround happened when the Cubs signed Nicky Lopez, because Swanson has been taking a sip of Lopez' Red Bull before games.
“That's the key, I'm telling you. That's the key,” Swanson said Monday. “It's literally like one small, small sip from Nicky Lo.”
Swanson should probably start banking some extra sleep, since he and wife Mallory announced last week they are expecting their first child.
“It's so little consumed, there's no way it can keep me up,” he said. “We've got some time (before the baby arrives).”
This series essentially ends the Cubs' run of playing the most difficult schedule in the majors. The standings can change, but as it stands today, the Cubs won't see a team with one of the 10 best records in MLB until June 6-8 at Detroit.
Starting pitcher Colin Rea did his part, tossing nearly 7 shutout innings, but gave up a 2-run homer to Derek Hill with two outs in the top of the seventh.
“I wouldn't say the fastball had the life on it tonight that it has, but I felt like our misses were in good spots,” Rea said. “We were around the edges for the most part. Then we were able to kind of mix in some spin in the later innings.”
The Cubs (24-18) were able to rest the bullpen, for the most part, but Daniel Palencia recorded 4 outs, while Drew Pomeranz recorded his first major-league save since Aug. 11, 2020, before he started having injury issues.
“I think Daniel's in a really good place right now,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He's taken a big step forward for us and an important guy taking a big step forward. He's been in some big spots.”
Ian Happ missed this third straight game with oblique discomfort. Counsell said Happ took two days of rest, then was planning to resume baseball activities Monday.
According to Bruce Levine of WSCR-AM, Happ is headed to the injured list and the Cubs plan to call up Moises Ballesteros from Triple-A Iowa.
“I think (Happ is) just trying to figure out, 'What is it? Is it nothing? Is it something?'” Counsell said before the game. “We're going to be cautious with this, obviously.”
Before the game, the Cubs reinstated reliever Caleb Thielbar from the paternity list and sent pitcher Gavin Hollowell to Iowa.
