The Chicago Cubs finished out their home series against the Padres with a sweeping win that marked a blowout win for the Cubs. This series makes five in a row that the Cubs have won. It should be noted that the series at home against the Blue Jays from June 19th to the 21st is currently tied at 1-1 with the tie breaking game set to be made up on August 6th.
The Cubs belted out 23 runs on 17 hits and 8 home runs. Dansby Swanson had a particularly good game as he continues his comeback stretch in the latter part of the first half of the season. Swanson himself scored four times, drove in eight more, and hit three home runs. All of this after a rough patch that got bad enough to warrant trade rumors.
The Cubs have finally given themselves a fighting chance
Despite seeing much needed improvements through June, the Cubs still remain five games behind. That's a pending stat, as the Brewers have yet to play today, but at most by the time of publishing the Cubs will sit 5.5 games out of first place. It's a much better place to be than where the Cubs would have been if they had continued on their difficult trajectory seen in May. But it's a manageable number.
To put it into perspective, the Padres and Diamondbacks are tied for second in the NL West, and they both rest at 12.5 games behind the Dodgers. It's not such a mountain to climb when things are put into perspective.
The Cubs will need to continue to win games and keep their streak hot into the All-Star break if they want to have a chance at catching the Brewers. With inter-divisional games coming to finish the first half of the season, it's a chance for the Cubs to really take a lead in the division. If the Cubs can trim even 2 or 2.5 games off of the Brewers' lead, it could have a significant impact on the team's momentum post All-Star break.
Chicago has had a wild ride of baseball this season. From the White Sox holding their division in first surprising all of the MLB to the Cubs having a season with two separate ten-game win streaks, it's been crazy. When the dust has time to settle with the break, the Cubs can only hope their pitching staff can remain healthy long enough to have a full rotation.
Chicago has spent the past few weeks climbing out of the hole it dug earlier this season. If it can carry this momentum into the All-Star break, the NL Central race could look very different in a matter of weeks.
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