Wednesday's slate delivered plenty of drama, but nothing came close to what happened at Wrigley Field, where the wind howled out to center and the Chicago Cubs turned a baseball game into a fireworks show. The Cubs pounded the San Diego Padres 23-3, their most runs in a home game since 1977, and Dansby Swanson stood at the center of it with three home runs, including a grand slam off a position player, and a career-high eight RBIs. It marked the first time since Patrick Wisdom in August 2021 that a Cub has strung together back-to-back multi-homer games, and it gave Swanson five home runs across two days, tying an MLB record for a two-game span. Seiya Suzuki, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch also went deep, and the eight combined home runs matched a Cubs franchise record. It was the kind of night a hitting coach dreams about and a pitching staff tries to forget.
A Different Kind of Beatdown in the Bronx
The Cubs weren't the only team making a statement on the road to nowhere for their opponent. The Detroit Tigers completed a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, their first sweep there since 2008, capped by a wild 6-2 win in 11 innings. New York tied the game with a two-run ninth, but reliever Camilo Doval unraveled in the 11th, issuing three straight walks before Zach McKinstry cleared the bases with a two-run single, aided by a throwing error. Keider Montero, freshly moved to the bullpen after Jack Flaherty's return, got the win by striking out the side to escape a tenth-inning jam. The Yankees have now lost seven straight, their longest skid in three years, and they're doing it without Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham in the lineup.
What It Means for the Standings
Results like these ripple. Tampa Bay's win over Kansas City kept the Rays rolling — they've won seven straight of their own — but New York's collapse trimmed the AL East gap to 3.5 games, closer than it's looked in weeks. Over in the Central, Chicago's loss to Baltimore didn't cost them the division lead; the White Sox still hold a one-game edge over Cleveland, who took care of business against Texas behind Joey Cantillo. And out west, the Dodgers' surprising 7-1 loss to the Athletics barely dented their grip on the NL West — Los Angeles still leads by 12 games, a reminder that even a bad night from a great team rarely changes the math this deep into a runaway race.
Around the Rest of the League
Washington delivered its own power display, backing Andrew Alvarez with a 10-2 rout of Boston that Nationals players called "pretty lit," a fitting description for a Fenway Park blowout on a holiday week. In Philadelphia, the Phillies tagged Paul Skenes for a season-high seven earned runs on the way to a 10-6 win over Pittsburgh, a rare rough outing for one of the sport's most reliable arms. The Braves got a bounce-back start from Reynaldo López, who limited St. Louis to one run in a 5-1 win that kept Atlanta's NL East lead at 2.5 games over Philadelphia.
Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero kept climbing the franchise record book in the shutout win over Kansas City, while in Houston, Minnesota's Taj Bradley and a power surge from Kody Clemens, Josh Bell and Luke Keaschall carried the Twins past the Astros 8-3, with Clemens going deep in front of his father. Milwaukee's bullpen did its job again in a 4-2 win over Cincinnati, stretching the Brewers' NL Central lead to 5.5 games, and in Colorado, Mickey Moniak came a single short of the cycle as the Rockies beat Miami 6-3. On the West Coast, San Francisco snapped a rough stretch against Arizona behind a scoreless outing from Trevor McDonald, winning 6-4 to close out the night.
Looking Ahead
Thursday brings a quick turnaround for several of Wednesday's headline teams. The Tigers carry their sweep momentum into Texas, where Framber Valdez opens a series against Nathan Eovaldi. The Yankees, still searching for answers, host Minnesota starting Friday with Gerrit Cole on the mound. The Cubs, fresh off their franchise-tying power display, look to keep the good times going as they continue their homestand, while the Dodgers will look to shake off a rare off night and protect that double-digit division cushion. With the All-Star break and trade deadline both approaching on the calendar, every one of these swings — literal and figurative — carries a little more weight than it did in April.
For the full rundown of Wednesday's slate, see the final scores below, and check forty4baseball.com/mlb-standings for the latest divisional picture heading into the weekend.
Catch every score, every recap: forty4baseball.com/mlb-games
Wednesday, July 1st — Final Scores
⚾ Chicago White Sox (45-40) @ Baltimore Orioles (40-48) — Orioles win, 6-1
⚾ Texas Rangers (44-43) @ Cleveland Guardians (45-42) — Guardians win, 9-4
⚾ Washington Nationals (45-43) @ Boston Red Sox (37-48) — Nationals win, 10-2
⚾ Detroit Tigers (38-49) @ New York Yankees (48-38) — Tigers win, 6-2
⚾ San Diego Padres (43-42) @ Chicago Cubs (49-38) — Cubs win, 23-3
⚾ New York Mets (36-51) @ Toronto Blue Jays (41-46) — Blue Jays win, 9-3
⚾ Pittsburgh Pirates (43-44) @ Philadelphia Phillies (49-38) — Phillies win, 10-6
⚾ St. Louis Cardinals (44-39) @ Atlanta Braves (50-34) — Braves win, 5-1
⚾ Tampa Bay Rays (50-33) @ Kansas City Royals (35-52) — Rays win, 4-0
⚾ Minnesota Twins (42-46) @ Houston Astros (43-46) — Twins win, 8-3
⚾ Cincinnati Reds (39-46) @ Milwaukee Brewers (53-31) — Brewers win, 4-2
⚾ Miami Marlins (46-41) @ Colorado Rockies (34-53) — Rockies win, 6-3
⚾ Los Angeles Dodgers (56-31) @ Athletics (41-46) — Athletics win, 7-1
⚾ San Francisco Giants (36-50) @ Arizona Diamondbacks (43-43) — Giants win, 6-4
Records shown are post-game (through July 1).
