Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (6/30/26): Cubs 9, Padres 7 – Swanson Homers Twice in Slugfest
The Cubs and Padres played again at a hot and humid Wrigley Field on Tuesday night, and the hitters on both sides took full advantage of the conditions with nine total homers between them. Fortunately for Craig Counsell‘s squad, they came out ahead in the dinger column and on the scoreboard.
San Diego landed the first blow when Fernando Tatís Jr. hit a solo home run off Matthew Boyd to begin the game. Chicago responded in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single by Carson Kelly against starter JP Sears.
The North Siders used a pair of homers to break the game open in the bottom of the 2nd. Dansby Swanson went very deep with a solo shot, then Alex Bregman finally came through with runners on base by hitting a three-run blast that brought the score to 5-1.
The Padres would not go away, however, as Manny Machado took Boyd out for a two-run homer in the top of the 3rd to cut the deficit to 5-3. The Cubs opened the game back up in the 5th with a solo shot from Michael Busch and a second home run from Swanson, this one a two-run jack, for an 8-3 edge.
Pete Crow-Armstrong joined in on the fun with a solo shot in the bottom of the 6th to move Chicago in front 9-3. Javier Assad took over for Boyd in that frame and was doing well until the top of the 8th, when he also fell victim to the longball. Gavin Sheets had a three-run job, and Tatís had his second solo to bring San Diego within 9-7.
The comeback ended there, as Tyler Ferguson and Ryan Rolison got the final four outs to preserve the win and clinch the series for the Cubs. (Box score)
Key Moment
Machado came up as the tying run with two down in the 8th, but Ferguson struck him out to end the threat.
Why the Cubs Won
They out-slugged their opponent on one of those crazy hitter’s nights at Wrigley Field in the summer.
Stats That Matter
- Boyd is still getting back into form but looked good: 5 IP, 3 R, 8 H, 2 K, and 0 BB.
- Swanson also had a single and continues his recent tear.
- Bregman had a couple of walks in addition to the home run.
Bottom Line
After all of that drama the past month, the Cubs finished June with a 16-10 record and are 10 games over .500 heading into the tail end of the first half. The biggest reason for the turnaround is the fact that the lineup woke up about three weeks ago. The pitching has not been a complete disaster, which is an accomplishment given how many injuries they have had. Hopefully, these trends can continue into July.
On Deck
Chicago goes for the sweep on Wednesday afternoon at 1:20pm CT. Colin Rea takes on Walker Buehler in a game televised on Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.
