In the first of 13 matchups this season, the Chicago Cubs defeated their division rival, the Cincinnati Reds, by a score of 13-6. The dominant win over the Reds was led by four home runs on the night. Two from center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, as well as a third from right fielder Seiya Suzuki, helped spur that total. However, this towering shot by shortstop Dansby Swanson was posted by MLB on their official X, formerly Twitter, page.
“Dansby Swanson hits the FOURTH @Cubs home run of the night!” posted MLB’s official account on the social media platform.
The final home run of the night, Swanson’s shot put an exclamation mark on the Cubbies’ offensive barrage. It was the shortstop’s lone hit of the night, but he made it count. He also reached base with a walk on a 1-for-4 line. The win helped increase the Cubs’ lead in the NL Central to three games over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Is this win the start of a possible sweep of the Reds at Great American Ballpark? Or will the Reds, who are only 6.5 games back, make a statement on Saturday?
Cubs’ lead over NL Central grows with win over division rival Reds
If the season ended tomorrow, the Cubs would be playing the sixth seed in the NL Wild Card round. At the moment, that would be the San Diego Padres. For as good as Chicago has been so far this season, there are still areas where the team can improve. Most notably on the mound, as the loss of Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga to injuries, among others, have really stung manager Craig Counsell’s team.
However, the offense has picked up the slack. Crow-Armstrong, also known as PCA, drove in six of the team’s runs, including a grand slam that was his second bomb of the night. Suzuki also hit a three-run homer, while designated hitter Kyle Tucker drove in two runs of his own. Four hitters combined to drive in all 16 runs.
Almost every single Cubs starter got at least one hit. As long as the offense continues this strong start, then maybe it will buy time for a pitching staff that could use a boost. Hopefully president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is glued to his phone, trying to improve this team. They are owed that much after such a strong start.