The Cubs didn’t just beat the Padres on Wednesday. They blew the roof off the box score.
Chicago rolled to a 23-3 win in San Diego, completed a three-game sweep, and kept humming with its 15th victory in the last 19 games. The outburst also put the Cubs in some rare company: their 23 runs were the most the franchise had scored in a game since 1995, and the eight home runs tied the club record.
Colin Rea made sure the avalanche came with a little bit of order behind it. He worked five innings, allowed two runs, and struck out five while the offense kept stacking crooked numbers.
The home-run barrage brought back a familiar feeling for Cubs fans. On July 4, 2025, Chicago had already set the franchise mark with eight homers in an 11-3 win over the Cardinals.
This time, the list of sluggers looked even more ridiculous. Dansby Swanson went deep three times for the first time in his big-league career.
Michael Busch, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki each added to the record chase, and Michael Conforto chipped in with a multi-homer game of his own.
June, in the end, turned into a strong month for Chicago. The Cubs went 16-10 and finished with the fifth-best record in MLB during the month, a sharp turn from where they were on May 31 at 32-28 and sliding.
Crow-Armstrong has been a huge part of that swing. In June, he put together a month that put him in the company of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. According to the numbers cited, Pete Crow-Armstrong of the @Cubs is one of three players in MLB history to have a month with:.375+ batting average.775+ slugging pct80+ total bases15+ walks10+ home runs5+ stolen basesThe others are Babe Ruth (June 1920, July 1920, May 1930) and Lou Gehrig (June 1930). pic.twitter.com/ud5bAyf4wq
His recent stretch has been just as loud. Over his last 30 games, Crow-Armstrong is hitting .390/.469/.797, and the production has helped drag the Cubs back into position. Chicago now sits five games behind the Milwaukee Brewers and owns the top Wild Card spot.
Suzuki has kept pace with the surge, and Wednesday gave him a milestone swing to remember. After hitting his 99th career homer in Milwaukee last weekend, he launched No. 100 against the Padres. The three-run shot was his 13th home run of the season and made him just the fourth Japanese-born player in major league history to reach 100 homers, joining Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki, and Shohei Ohtani.
He’s not slowing down, either. Suzuki has hit .355/.371/.710 over his last seven games, and his season line is up to .274/.357/.466 with an .823 OPS.
The Cubs will now head into a Fourth of July weekend series at home against the Cardinals, just like they did last year. Friday’s opener is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. CT on Marquee Sports Network, Saturday’s game is set for 7:05 p.m. on FOX, and the finale will air at 1:30 p.m. on Peacock and NBCSN Extra as part of NBC’s "Star-Spangled Sunday" event.
In Other News...
Padres Fans Can Feel What This Latest A.J. Preller Rumor Means
A major ownership shift has put the Padres back in the center of the conversation around how this front office might operate going forward. With the franchise changing hands in a reported record sale, the kind of spending questions that usually hover around San Diego are getting a fresh look, especially with A.J. Prellers reputation for acting decisively when the market opens up.
For a club sitting in second place in the NL West and trying to stay in the mix around the final Wild Card chase, the timing matters. A mixed season and a little recent turbulence have only sharpened the attention on what San Diego can realistically do next, and the uncertainty around the 2026 deadline now feels like it could tilt in a more aggressive direction if the new financial picture holds. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Fans Wont Love Where Nick Pivettas Return Suddenly Stands
Nick Pivettas path back is at least moving again, which is the first encouraging sign the Padres have had in a while from a rotation that has taken hit after hit. The right-hander has been out since mid-April with a flexor strain in his right elbow, and he has recently begun a throwing progression as the club continues to take the cautious route with his recovery.
For a Padres staff already navigating injuries to Joe Musgrove, Lucas Giolito, Germn Mrquez and Matt Waldron, even a slow ramp-up matters because every healthy arm counts. The trouble is that there is still no firm answer on when Pivetta might actually help, and the clubs original hope for a return after the All-Star break now looks more like a rough target than a promise. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Suddenly Face An Uncomfortable Jarren Duran Deadline Decision
As the trade deadline approaches, the Padres are weighing whether to add an outfield bat, and one hypothetical match from former MLB general manager Jim Bowden has put Boston's Jarren Duran in the conversation. The appeal is clear from San Diego's side: Duran has the speed and versatility to fit plenty of lineup looks, and his name naturally comes up for a club searching for ways to sharpen its roster before the market tightens.
The wrinkle is that Duran's recent production has made any decision in Boston more complicated, and the Red Sox would have to decide how much patience they have left with a player whose season has sagged in several key areas. Bowden's proposal does not stop with one player, either, since a deal could grow if closer Aroldis Chapman is pulled into the discussion, leaving both clubs with a bigger deadline question than a simple one-for-one swap. [Read more 🡒]